Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

By reviewing the USDA zone info for Santa Monica you should be able to figure out when you can plant periwinkles.

Planting Calendar for Periwinkles

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

It's probably a bad idea to plant periwinkles until after the last frost has passed because they require warm weather.

The earliest that you can plant periwinkles 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 periwinkles and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your periwinkles may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your periwinkles indoors.

Last Frost Date

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

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Santa Monica is just an average and 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 always be ready to protect your periwinkles 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.