Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

A way of figuring out when it's the best time to plant osteospermum is to examine the USDA zone info for Santa Ana.

Planting Calendar for Osteospermum

Frost tolerance for osteospermum:	Tolerant of some frost.
When to plant:	Up to 5 weeks before last frost.

Osteospermum do ok in a little bit of cold which means that you can plant them just a bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant osteospermum in Santa Ana 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 osteospermum and expect a good harvest is probably October. Any later than that and your osteospermum may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your osteospermum 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.

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Santa Ana and it changes from year to year. Half of the time in Santa Ana last frost occurs after January 31 so always be ready to protect your osteospermum 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.