One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out 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.

In Keene you can determine when it's a good idea to plant santolina by looking at 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.

Santolina tend to make it in a bit of cold which tells us that you can plant them much earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant santolina in Keene 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 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 Keene. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Keene is just an average the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Keene there is a last frost after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your santolina if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Keene

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 Keene

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