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.

By using the USDA zone info for Santa Barbara you will be able to figure out when you can plant banana.

Planting Calendar for Banana

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

You can not plant banana until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant banana in Santa Barbara 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 banana and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your banana may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your banana indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Santa Barbara and it is different every year. Half of the time in Santa Barbara there is a last frost after January 31 so be sure to be ready to cover your banana if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Santa Barbara

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 Barbara

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