One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea 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 common way of estimating when to plant santolina is to use the USDA zone info for Riverview.

Planting Calendar for Santolina

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

Santolina do ok in quite a bit of cold which means that you can plant them quite a bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant santolina in Riverview 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 fully mature. If you are starting your santolina indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Riverview. You should expect an average low temperature of -5°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Riverview may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Riverview last frost occurs after April 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your santolina if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Riverview

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-5°F
Highest Expected Low	0°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -5°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 0°F.

Plants to Grow in Riverview

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