Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine your garden schedule. 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 gazania in Santa Cruz should be estimated by reviewing the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Gazania

Frost tolerance for gazania:	Tolerant of a very small amount of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 3 weeks before last frost.

Gazania can survive in very little cold which means that you can plant them just a tiny bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant gazania in Santa Cruz 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 gazania and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your gazania may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your gazania indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Santa Cruz the average date of last frost happens on February 15. It might get as low as 25°F during the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Santa Cruz and it is different every year. Half of the time in Santa Cruz you get a frost after February 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your gazania 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.