One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about 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.

In Dade City you can figure out when it's the best time to plant santolina by referring to 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 quite a bit of cold which means that you can plant them earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant santolina in Dade City 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. 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

On average the last frost is on February 15 in Dade City. It might get as low as 25°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Dade City is not always accurate the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Dade City you get a frost after February 15 be ready to cover your santolina in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Dade City

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 Low	25°F
Highest Expected Low	30°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 Dade City

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Dade City.