One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The earliest that you can plant santolina in Big Lake can be figured out by using the USDA zone info.

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 much earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

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

In Big Lake the average date of last frost happens on May 15. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -25°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Big Lake is an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Big Lake it frosts late in the year after May 15 be ready to cover your santolina in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Big Lake

Here is the info for USDA Zone 4b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	September 15
Lowest Expected Low	-25°F
Highest Expected Low	-20°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -25°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -20°F.

Plants to Grow in Big Lake

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Big Lake.