One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the 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.

By reviewing the USDA zone info for Santa Maria it's a good idea to estimate when you can plant hardy hibiscus.

Planting Calendar for Hardy Hibiscus

Frost tolerance for hardy hibiscus:	Very tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 7 weeks before last frost.

Hardy Hibiscus tend to make it in a bit of cold which means that you can plant them quite a bit earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant hardy hibiscus in Santa Maria is January. However, you really should wait until February if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant hardy hibiscus and expect a good harvest is probably October. Any later than that and your hardy hibiscus may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your hardy hibiscus indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Santa Maria the average date of last frost happens on February 15. You can expect an average low temperature of 25°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Santa Maria is not always accurate the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Santa Maria last frost occurs after February 15 be ready to cover your hardy hibiscus if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Santa Maria

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 Maria

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