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.

A common way of estimating when it's the best time to plant santolina is to look at the USDA zone info for Charlotte.

Planting Calendar for Santolina

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

Since santolina do well in cold you can plant them earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant santolina in Charlotte 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 really do well. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your santolina indoors.

Last Frost Date

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

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Charlotte is just an average and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Charlotte it frosts late in the year after April 15 so always be ready to protect your santolina if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Charlotte

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 Charlotte

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