The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for Santa Cruz can be reffered to in order to figure out when it's a good idea to plant calliopsis.

Planting Calendar for Calliopsis

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

You really shouldn't plant calliopsis until after all chance of frost has passed because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant calliopsis in Santa Cruz is March. However, you really should wait until April if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant calliopsis and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your calliopsis may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your calliopsis indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for Santa Cruz is an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Santa Cruz you get a frost after February 15 be ready to protect your calliopsis in the event of a late frost.

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.