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

The first opportunity to plant larkspur in Santa Maria can be determined by checking out the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Larkspur

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

Since larkspur are one of those plants that can tolerate quite a bit of cold weather you can plant them a lot earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant larkspur 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 larkspur and expect a good harvest is probably October. If you wait any later than that and your larkspur may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your larkspur indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Santa Maria the average date of last frost happens on February 15. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 25°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Santa Maria may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Santa Maria last frost occurs after February 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your larkspur 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.