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.

In Benicia you can figure out when it's possible to plant santolina by reviewing 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 can survive in cold weather which means that you can plant them much earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant santolina in Benicia 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 santolina and expect a good harvest is probably October. If you wait any later than that and your santolina may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your santolina indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Benicia 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 Benicia is not always accurate the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Benicia it frosts late in the year after February 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your santolina in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Benicia

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 Benicia

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