One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the 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 it's a good idea to plant phlox is to use the USDA zone info for Santa Ana.

Planting Calendar for Phlox

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

Phlox can survive in mild cold which means that you can plant them a little bit earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant phlox 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 phlox and expect a good harvest is probably October. Any later than that and your phlox may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your phlox indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Santa Ana the average date of last frost happens on January 31. It might get as low as 30°F during the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Santa Ana is just an average and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Santa Ana you get surprised by a frost after January 31 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your phlox 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.