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When to Plant Tithonia in Santa Barbara, CA

One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine 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.

It's a good idea to estimate when it's a good idea to plant tithonia by checking out the USDA zone info for Santa Barbara.


Planting Calendar for Tithonia

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

Tithonia do not do well in cold weather which means that it is necessary to wait until it warms up after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant tithonia
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant tithonia
Probably not a good time to plant tithonia

The earliest that you can plant tithonia 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 tithonia and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your tithonia may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your tithonia indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

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 USDA zone info for Santa Barbara may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Santa Barbara there is a last frost after January 31 be ready to cover your tithonia 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 Low30°F
Highest Expected Low35°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.