One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea 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 way of determining when it's possible to plant calliopsis is to consult the USDA zone info for Santa Barbara.

Planting Calendar for Calliopsis

Frost tolerance for calliopsis:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After all chance of frost has passed.

Calliopsis require warm weather which tells us that you must wait until it warms up after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

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

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on January 31 in Santa Barbara. It might get as low as 30°F during the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Santa Barbara may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Santa Barbara last frost occurs after January 31 be ready to protect your calliopsis in the event of one of those late frosts.

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.