One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule is the 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.

You will be able to estimate when you can plant santolina by reviewing the USDA zone info for Aiken.

Planting Calendar for Santolina

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

You can plant santolina quite a bit earlier in the year because they do well in cold.

The earliest that you can plant santolina in Aiken 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. Starting your santolina indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on March 15 in Aiken. It might get as low as 10°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Aiken is just an average the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Aiken it frosts late in the year after March 15 be ready to protect your santolina in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Aiken

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	10°F
Highest Expected Low	15°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 15°F.

Plants to Grow in Aiken

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