When to Plant Sweet Peas in Santa Paula, CA

One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out your gardening schedule is find your 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.

By reviewing the USDA zone info for Santa Paula you will be able to determine when it's a good idea to plant sweet peas.


Planting Calendar for Sweet Peas

Frost tolerance for sweet peas: Tolerant of a very small amount of frost.
When to plant: Up to 3 weeks before last frost.

Since sweet peas are one of those plants that can tolerate a tiny bit of cold weather you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant sweet peas
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant sweet peas
Probably not a good time to plant sweet peas

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

Last Frost Date

In Santa Paula the average date of last frost happens on February 15. It might get as low as 25°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Santa Paula is just an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Santa Paula there is a last frost after February 15 be ready to cover your sweet peas if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Santa Paula

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)December 15
Lowest Expected Low25°F
Highest Expected Low30°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 25°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 30°F.

Plants to Grow in Santa Paula

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Santa Paula.