The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us estimate your gardening 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 chrysocephalum in Santa Maria should be determined by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Chrysocephalum

Frost tolerance for chrysocephalum:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost.

Since chrysocephalum are not cold tolerant it is important to wait until after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant chrysocephalum in Santa Maria 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 chrysocephalum and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your chrysocephalum may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your chrysocephalum indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Santa Maria 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 Maria is an average the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Santa Maria you get surprised by a frost after February 15 be ready to protect your chrysocephalum 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.