One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about 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.

A way of getting a good idea when you can plant santolina is to look at the USDA zone info for Elsa.

Planting Calendar for Santolina

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

Santolina do ok in pretty solid cold which tells us that you can plant them earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant santolina in Elsa 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. If you wait any later than that and your santolina may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your santolina indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Elsa the average date of last frost happens on February 15. It might get as low as 25°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Elsa is just an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Elsa you get surprised by a frost after February 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your santolina in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Elsa

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	25°F
Highest Expected Low	30°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 25°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 30°F.

Plants to Grow in Elsa

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