Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By referring to the USDA zone info for Santa Barbara it's possible to figure out when to plant gomphrena.

Planting Calendar for Gomphrena

Frost tolerance for gomphrena:	Tolerant of a very small amount of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 3 weeks before last frost.

Gomphrena are barely cold tolerant which tells us that you can start planting them slightly earlier than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant gomphrena 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 gomphrena and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your gomphrena may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your gomphrena indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Santa Barbara the average date of last frost happens on January 31. It might get as low as 30°F during the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost is an average 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 gomphrena 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.