Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine your garden schedule. 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 you can plant santolina is to examine the USDA zone info for Mesquite.

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 one of those plants that can tolerate quite a bit of cold weather you can plant them a lot earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant santolina in Mesquite 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your santolina may not have a chance to grow to maturity. 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 Mesquite the average date of last frost happens on March 15. It might get as low as 15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Mesquite and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Mesquite last frost occurs after March 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your santolina in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Mesquite

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	15°F
Highest Expected Low	20°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 20°F.

Plants to Grow in Mesquite

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