One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The best time to plant canna in Santa Barbara can be determined by reviewing the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Canna

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

It's probably not a good idea to plant canna until after the last frost because they require warm weather.

The earliest that you can plant canna 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 canna and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your canna may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your canna indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Santa Barbara is just an average and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Santa Barbara you get surprised by a frost after January 31 so make sure that you are ready to cover your canna 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.