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.

By looking at the USDA zone info for Santa Monica you should be able to estimate when it's the best time to plant iberis.

Planting Calendar for Iberis

Frost tolerance for iberis:	Tolerant of some frost.
When to plant:	Up to 5 weeks before last frost.

Iberis are moderately cold tolerant which means that you can plant them a little bit earlier than more sensitive plants.

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

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on January 31 in Santa Monica. You should expect an average low temperature of 35°F in the coldest months of winter.

Remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Santa Monica and it is different every year. Since half of the time in Santa Monica you get a frost after January 31 be ready to protect your iberis if you have 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.