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

The best time to plant santolina in Portage should be determined by referring to 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 are very cold tolerant which means that you can start planting them much earlier than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant santolina in Portage 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. If you wait any later than that and your santolina may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your santolina indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on April 15 in Portage. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -20°F.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Portage is just an average and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Portage last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to protect your santolina if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Portage

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-20°F
Highest Expected Low	-15°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -15°F.

Plants to Grow in Portage

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