One of the first steps you take when you are estimating your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The best time to plant santolina in Shafter can be figured out by reviewing the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Santolina

Frost tolerance for santolina:	Very tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 7 weeks before last frost.

Santolina do well in cold which means that you can get them planted much earlier than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant santolina in Shafter is January. However, you really should wait until February if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant santolina and expect a good harvest is probably October. If you wait any later than that and your santolina may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your santolina indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is February 15 in Shafter. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 20°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Shafter is not always accurate the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Shafter you get a frost after February 15 be ready to cover your santolina in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Shafter

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	20°F
Highest Expected Low	25°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 25°F.

Plants to Grow in Shafter

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Shafter.