Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

You can estimate when it's a good idea to plant platycodon in Santa Maria by checking out the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Platycodon

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

Platycodon can survive in mild cold which tells us that you can plant them just a tiny bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant platycodon 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 platycodon and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your platycodon may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your platycodon 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. It might get as low as 25°F during 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. Half of the time in Santa Maria it frosts late in the year after February 15 so always be ready to protect your platycodon in the event of 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.