When to Plant Santolina in Cary, IL

Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for Cary can be used to estimate when it's the best time to plant santolina.


Planting Calendar for Santolina

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

Santolina are one of those plants that can tolerate quite a bit of cold weather which tells us that you can plant them much earlier than more sensitive plants.

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

The earliest that you can plant santolina in Cary 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 really do well. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your santolina indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Cary the average date of last frost happens on April 15. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Cary may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Cary last frost occurs after April 15 so always be ready to cover your santolina if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Cary

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low-15°F
Highest Expected Low-10°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 -10°F.

Plants to Grow in Cary

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