One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out 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.

The USDA zone info for Santa Ana should be used to determine when it's possible to plant black eyed susans.

Planting Calendar for Black Eyed Susans

Frost tolerance for black eyed susans:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost when the weather gets warmer.

Since black eyed susans require warm weather it's necessary to wait until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant black eyed susans in Santa Ana 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 black eyed susans and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your black eyed susans may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your black eyed susans indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Santa Ana the average date of last frost happens on January 31. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 30°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Santa Ana is just an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Santa Ana there is a last frost after January 31 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your black eyed susans in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Santa Ana

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 Santa Ana

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