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.

You can determine when it's possible to plant firebush in Santa Cruz by using the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Firebush

Frost tolerance for firebush:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost.

Since firebush do not do well in cold weather it's necessary to wait until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant firebush 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 firebush and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your firebush may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your firebush indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on February 15 in Santa Cruz. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 25°F.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Santa Cruz is an average and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Santa Cruz it frosts late in the year after February 15 be ready to protect your firebush if you have 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.