Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

A way of making a decision about when it's a good idea to plant santolina is to refer to the USDA zone info for Alachua.

Planting Calendar for Santolina

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

Santolina can survive in cold weather which tells us that you can plant them earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant santolina in Alachua 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 santolina and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your santolina may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your santolina indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is March 15 in Alachua. You can expect an average low temperature of 15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Alachua and it changes from year to year. Half of the time in Alachua you get surprised by a frost after March 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your santolina in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Alachua

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	15°F
Highest Expected Low	20°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 20°F.

Plants to Grow in Alachua

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