One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By referring to the USDA zone info for Santa Maria it's a good idea to estimate when it's a good idea to plant red hot pokers.

Planting Calendar for Red Hot Pokers

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

Red Hot Pokers do well in cold which tells us that you can get them planted much earlier than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant red hot pokers 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 red hot pokers and expect a good harvest is probably October. Any later than that and your red hot pokers may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your red hot pokers indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is February 15 in Santa Maria. It might get as low as 25°F during the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Santa Maria is just an average and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Santa Maria last frost occurs after February 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your red hot pokers 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.