One of the first steps you take when you are determining your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Santa Monica you can determine when it's possible to plant brachycome by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Brachycome

Frost tolerance for brachycome:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost.

You really shouldn't plant brachycome until after all chance of frost has passed because they do not do well in cold weather.

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

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on January 31 in Santa Monica. It might get as low as 35°F during the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Santa Monica may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Santa Monica there is a last frost after January 31 be ready to protect your brachycome in the event of a 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.