The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Santa Maria you can estimate when it's a good idea to plant hardy asters by reviewing the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Hardy Asters

Frost tolerance for hardy asters:	Tolerant of a very small amount of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 3 weeks before last frost.

Since hardy asters do ok in moderate cold you can plant them just a tiny bit earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant hardy asters in Santa Maria is February. However, you really should wait until March if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant hardy asters and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your hardy asters may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your hardy asters indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on February 15 in Santa Maria. You can expect an average low temperature of 25°F in the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Santa Maria and it is different every year. Since half of the time in Santa Maria last frost occurs after February 15 be ready to protect your hardy asters 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.