Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By checking out the USDA zone info for Santa Monica it's possible to estimate when it's a good idea to plant impatiens.

Planting Calendar for Impatiens

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

You can not plant impatiens until after the last frost because they require warm weather.

The earliest that you can plant impatiens 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 impatiens and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your impatiens may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your impatiens indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for Santa Monica is not always accurate the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Santa Monica you get surprised by a frost after January 31 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your impatiens 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 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.