Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

It's a good idea to estimate when to plant osteospermum by using the USDA zone info for Santa Barbara.

Planting Calendar for Osteospermum

Frost tolerance for osteospermum:	Tolerant of some frost.
When to plant:	Up to 5 weeks before last frost.

Osteospermum do ok in moderate cold which means that you can plant them just a bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant osteospermum in Santa Barbara is January. However, you really should wait until February if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant osteospermum and expect a good harvest is probably October. Any later than that and your osteospermum may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your osteospermum indoors.

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for Santa Barbara is an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Santa Barbara there is a last frost after January 31 be ready to cover your osteospermum in the event of a 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.