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.

In Santa Maria you can estimate when it's possible to plant achillea by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Achillea

Frost tolerance for achillea:	Very tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 7 weeks before last frost.

You can plant achillea quite a bit earlier in the year because they are very cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant achillea in Santa Maria 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 achillea and expect a good harvest is probably October. If you wait any later than that and your achillea may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your achillea indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Santa Maria and it changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Santa Maria it frosts late in the year after February 15 be ready to protect your achillea in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Santa Maria

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 Maria

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Santa Maria.