One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for Santa Monica can be reffered to in order to figure out when it's possible to plant tropical water plants.

Planting Calendar for Tropical Water Plants

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

Tropical Water Plants do not do well in cold weather which means that you need to wait until it warms up after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant tropical water plants 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 tropical water plants and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your tropical water plants may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your tropical water plants indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Santa Monica the average date of last frost happens on January 31. You can expect an average low temperature of 35°F in the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Santa Monica may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Santa Monica last frost occurs after January 31 so just be sure to be ready to cover your tropical water plants 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.