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.

You should be able to figure out when it's possible to plant firebush by looking at the USDA zone info for Santa Barbara.

Planting Calendar for Firebush

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

Firebush require warm weather which means that you must wait until it warms up after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant firebush 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 firebush and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your firebush may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your firebush indoors.

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 the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for Santa Barbara and it is different every year. Since half of the time in Santa Barbara last frost occurs after January 31 be ready to cover your firebush 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.