One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

A common way of determining when to plant saxifraga is to consult the USDA zone info for Rancho Santa Margarita.

Planting Calendar for Saxifraga

Frost tolerance for saxifraga:	Tolerant of a very small amount of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 3 weeks before last frost.

Since saxifraga are barely cold tolerant you can plant them slightly earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant saxifraga in Rancho Santa Margarita is February. However, you really should wait until March if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant saxifraga and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your saxifraga may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your saxifraga indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is January 31 in Rancho Santa Margarita. It might get as low as 30°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Rancho Santa Margarita is an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Rancho Santa Margarita you get a frost after January 31 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your saxifraga in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Rancho Santa Margarita

Here is the info for USDA Zone 10a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	January 31
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	30°F
Highest Expected Low	35°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 30°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 35°F.

Plants to Grow in Rancho Santa Margarita

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Rancho Santa Margarita.