One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The first opportunity to plant aubrieta in Santa Cruz can be estimated by using the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Aubrieta

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

Since aubrieta are moderately cold tolerant you can plant them a little earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant aubrieta in Santa Cruz 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 aubrieta and expect a good harvest is probably October. Any later than that and your aubrieta may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your aubrieta indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Santa Cruz the average date of last frost happens on February 15. You can expect an average low temperature of 25°F in the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for Santa Cruz and it is different every year. Since half of the time in Santa Cruz there is a last frost after February 15 be ready to protect your aubrieta in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Santa Cruz

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	25°F
Highest Expected Low	30°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 25°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 30°F.

Plants to Grow in Santa Cruz

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Santa Cruz.