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.

A way of estimating when it's possible to plant santolina is to examine the USDA zone info for Ponchatoula.

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 pretty solid cold which tells us that you can plant them a lot earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant santolina in Ponchatoula 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else 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

In Ponchatoula the average date of last frost happens on March 15. You should expect an average low temperature of 15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Ponchatoula may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Ponchatoula it frosts late in the year after March 15 so always be ready to protect your santolina if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Ponchatoula

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 Ponchatoula

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