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.

In Santa Monica you can determine when it's a good idea to plant bidens by reviewing the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Bidens

Frost tolerance for bidens:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After all chance of frost has passed.

Since bidens are not cold tolerant it is important to wait until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant bidens 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 bidens and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your bidens may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your bidens indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is January 31 in Santa Monica. You can expect an average low temperature of 35°F in the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Santa Monica and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Santa Monica you get surprised by a frost after January 31 be ready to cover your bidens if you have a surprise late frost.

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 Low	35°F
Highest Expected Low	40°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.