One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

You can estimate when it's a good idea to plant chrysocephalum in Santa Cruz by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Chrysocephalum

Frost tolerance for chrysocephalum:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After all chance of frost has passed.

You can not plant chrysocephalum until after the last frost has passed because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant chrysocephalum in Santa Cruz is March. However, you really should wait until April if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant chrysocephalum and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your chrysocephalum may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your chrysocephalum indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is February 15 in Santa Cruz. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 25°F.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Santa Cruz is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Santa Cruz it frosts late in the year after February 15 be ready to cover your chrysocephalum if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Santa Cruz

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	25°F
Highest Expected Low	30°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 25°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 30°F.

Plants to Grow in Santa Cruz

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Santa Cruz.