One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the 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 Charleston it's a good idea to determine when 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.

You can plant santolina a lot earlier in the year because they are one of those plants that can tolerate quite a bit of cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant santolina in Charleston 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. If you wait 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

On average the last frost has passed is on April 15 in Charleston. It might get as low as -10°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Charleston is not always accurate the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Charleston you get a frost after April 15 be ready to protect your santolina in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Charleston

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-10°F
Highest Expected Low	-5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -5°F.

Plants to Grow in Charleston

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