Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

A common way of determining when it's the best time to plant santolina is to refer to the USDA zone info for Morro Bay.

Planting Calendar for Santolina

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

Since santolina are very cold tolerant you can plant them a lot earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant santolina in Morro Bay 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. Any later than that and your santolina may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your santolina indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Morro Bay the average date of last frost happens on February 15. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 25°F.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Morro Bay is just an average and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Morro Bay you get a frost after February 15 be ready to protect your santolina in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Morro Bay

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 Morro Bay

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Morro Bay.