One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out 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.

The USDA zone info for Santa Maria can be used to estimate when it's a good idea to plant scarlet pimpernels.

Planting Calendar for Scarlet Pimpernels

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

You can plant scarlet pimpernels a bit earlier in the year because they are barely cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant scarlet pimpernels 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 scarlet pimpernels and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your scarlet pimpernels may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your scarlet pimpernels indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for Santa Maria is an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Santa Maria there is a last frost after February 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your scarlet pimpernels 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.