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

The earliest that you can plant lithospermum in Santa Cruz should be estimated by reviewing the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Lithospermum

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

Since lithospermum do not do well in cold weather you must wait until after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

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

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on February 15 in Santa Cruz. It might get as low as 25°F during the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Santa Cruz is an average and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Santa Cruz last frost occurs after February 15 be ready to protect your lithospermum if you have 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.