One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

A common way of determining when it's possible to plant dallas fern is to consult the USDA zone info for Santa Maria.

Planting Calendar for Dallas Fern

Frost tolerance for dallas fern:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After all chance of frost has passed.

It's not a good idea to plant dallas fern until after all chance of frost has passed because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant dallas fern 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 dallas fern and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your dallas fern may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your dallas fern 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. You can expect an average low temperature of 25°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Santa Maria is just an average the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Santa Maria last frost occurs after February 15 so always be ready to protect your dallas fern if you have 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.