One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The first chance to plant iberis in Santa Maria should be estimated by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Iberis

Frost tolerance for iberis:	Tolerant of some frost.
When to plant:	Up to 5 weeks before last frost.

Iberis are moderately cold tolerant which tells us that you can get them planted earlier than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant iberis 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 iberis and expect a good harvest is probably October. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your iberis may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your iberis indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on February 15 in Santa Maria. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 25°F.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for Santa Maria and it will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Santa Maria you get surprised by a frost after February 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your iberis if you have a surprise late frost.

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.