Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

It's possible to estimate when you can plant basket of gold by referring to the USDA zone info for Santa Maria.

Planting Calendar for Basket of Gold

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

Basket of Gold do ok in quite a bit of cold which tells us that you can plant them much earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant basket of gold 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 basket of gold and expect a good harvest is probably October. If you wait any later than that and your basket of gold may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your basket of gold indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Santa Maria is an average and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Santa Maria last frost occurs after February 15 be ready to cover your basket of gold in the event of one of those late frosts.

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.