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

A common way of figuring out when you can plant carnation is to look at the USDA zone info for Santa Maria.

Planting Calendar for Carnation

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

Carnation do well in cold which means that you can plant them a quite a bit earlier than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant carnation 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 carnation and expect a good harvest is probably October. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your carnation may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your carnation indoors is a great way to get them started 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.

Always keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Santa Maria and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Santa Maria there is a last frost after February 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your carnation if you have a surprise 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.