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When to Plant Alternanthera in Santa Monica, CA

One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The first chance to plant alternanthera in Santa Monica should be figured out by checking out the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Alternanthera

Frost tolerance for alternanthera: Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant: After the last frost has passed.

It's probably not a good idea to plant alternanthera until after the last frost because they are not cold tolerant.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant alternanthera
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant alternanthera
Probably not a good time to plant alternanthera

The earliest that you can plant alternanthera in Santa Monica 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 alternanthera and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your alternanthera may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your alternanthera indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on January 31 in Santa Monica. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 35°F.

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Santa Monica and it will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Santa Monica you get surprised by a frost after January 31 so just be sure to be ready to cover your alternanthera if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Santa Monica

Here is the info for USDA Zone 10b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)January 31
Average Date of First Frost (fall)December 15
Lowest Expected Low35°F
Highest Expected Low40°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 35°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 40°F.

Plants to Grow in Santa Monica

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Santa Monica.