One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine 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.

One way of estimating when it's a good idea to plant santolina is to refer to the USDA zone info for Hermiston.

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 quite a bit of cold which means that you can plant them a lot earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant santolina in Hermiston 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 fully mature. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your santolina indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Hermiston the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You can expect an average low temperature of 0°F in the coldest months of winter.

Remember that USDA zone info for Hermiston is an average and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Hermiston you get a frost after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your santolina if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Hermiston

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	0°F
Highest Expected Low	5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 0°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 5°F.

Plants to Grow in Hermiston

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