One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By using the USDA zone info for Santa Cruz you should be able to figure out when you can plant stoneseed.

Planting Calendar for Stoneseed

Frost tolerance for stoneseed:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost has passed.

You really shouldn't plant stoneseed until after the last frost has passed because they require warm weather.

The earliest that you can plant stoneseed 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 stoneseed and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your stoneseed may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your stoneseed indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Santa Cruz the average date of last frost happens on February 15. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 25°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Santa Cruz is not always accurate the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Santa Cruz there is a last frost after February 15 be ready to cover your stoneseed if you have 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.