One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out 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 earliest that you can plant thunbergia in Santa Barbara should be determined by using the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Thunbergia

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

Thunbergia are not cold tolerant which tells us that it's necessary to wait until it warms up after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant thunbergia 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 thunbergia and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your thunbergia may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your thunbergia indoors.

Last Frost Date

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

Always keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Santa Barbara and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Santa Barbara you get surprised by a frost after January 31 be ready to protect your thunbergia 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.