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.

A common way of making a decision about when it's possible to plant tropical water plants is to refer to the USDA zone info for Goleta.

Planting Calendar for Tropical Water Plants

Frost tolerance for tropical water plants:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost has passed.

Tropical Water Plants are not cold tolerant which tells us that it is important to wait until it warms up after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant tropical water plants in Goleta 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 tropical water plants and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your tropical water plants may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your tropical water plants indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Goleta the average date of last frost happens on February 15. It might get as low as 25°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Goleta is an average the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Goleta you get a frost after February 15 so always be ready to cover your tropical water plants in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Goleta

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 Goleta

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