One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By referring to the USDA zone info for Long Beach it's a good idea to estimate when you can plant santolina.

Planting Calendar for Santolina

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

Since santolina are very cold tolerant you can plant them much earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant santolina in Long Beach is January. However, you really should wait until February if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant santolina and expect a good harvest is probably October. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your santolina may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your santolina indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on February 15 in Long Beach. It might get as low as 20°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Long Beach is not always accurate the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Long Beach you get a frost after February 15 be ready to cover your santolina if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Long Beach

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	20°F
Highest Expected Low	25°F

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

Plants to Grow in Long Beach

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Long Beach.