Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The earliest that you can plant skullcap in Santa Cruz can be determined by reviewing the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Skullcap

Frost tolerance for skullcap:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost when the weather gets warmer.

Skullcap require warm weather which means that it is important to wait until it warms up after the last frost before you can plant them.

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

Last Frost Date

In Santa Cruz the average date of last frost happens on February 15. 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 can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Santa Cruz it frosts late in the year after February 15 be ready to cover your skullcap 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.