Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

A common way of getting a good idea when to plant santolina is to consult the USDA zone info for Alexandria.

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 means that you can plant them a quite a bit earlier than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant santolina in Alexandria is March. However, you really should wait until April if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant santolina and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your santolina may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your santolina indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on May 15 in Alexandria. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -30°F.

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Alexandria and it will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Alexandria last frost occurs after May 15 be ready to cover your santolina in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Alexandria

Here is the info for USDA Zone 4a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	September 15
Lowest Expected Low	-30°F
Highest Expected Low	-25°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -30°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -25°F.

Plants to Grow in Alexandria

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