One of the first steps you take when you are determining 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.

The first chance to plant geranium in Santa Barbara should be estimated by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Geranium

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

It's not a good idea to plant geranium until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant geranium 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 geranium and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your geranium may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your geranium indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on January 31 in Santa Barbara. You can expect an average low temperature of 30°F in the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Santa Barbara may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Santa Barbara you get surprised by a frost after January 31 be ready to cover your geranium in the event of 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.