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

In Santa Cruz you can figure out when it's possible to plant hosta by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Hosta

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

Since hosta are moderately cold tolerant you can plant them just a bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant hosta 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 hosta and expect a good harvest is probably October. Any later than that and your hosta may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your hosta indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on February 15 in Santa Cruz. You should expect an average low temperature of 25°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Santa Cruz is an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Santa Cruz you get a frost after February 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your hosta in the event of a surprise 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.