One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

It's possible to figure out when to plant firebush by reviewing the USDA zone info for Santa Maria.

Planting Calendar for Firebush

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

It's not a good idea to plant firebush until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant firebush 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 firebush and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your firebush may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your firebush indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on February 15 in Santa Maria. You should expect an average low temperature of 25°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Santa Maria may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Santa Maria there is a last frost after February 15 be ready to cover your firebush 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.