One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Fairbanks you can figure out when it's a good idea to plant santolina by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Santolina

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

Santolina do well in cold which means that you can plant them much earlier than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant santolina in Fairbanks is April. However, you really should wait until May if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant santolina and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your santolina may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your santolina indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Fairbanks the average date of last frost happens on May 15. You should expect an average low temperature of -50°F in the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Fairbanks is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Fairbanks last frost occurs after May 15 be ready to protect your santolina in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Fairbanks

Here is the info for USDA Zone 2a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	August 15
Lowest Expected Low	-50°F
Highest Expected Low	-45°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -50°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -45°F.

Plants to Grow in Fairbanks

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Fairbanks.