One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule is the 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 a good idea to plant nemesia by using the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Nemesia

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

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

The earliest that you can plant nemesia 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 nemesia and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your nemesia may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your nemesia indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last 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.

Since the USDA zone info for Santa Monica is not always accurate the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Santa Monica it frosts late in the year after January 31 be ready to protect your nemesia 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.