One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for Zone 7a can be used to determine when you can plant santolina.

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 other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant santolina in Zone 7a 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. Starting your santolina indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Zone 7a the average date of last frost happens on April 15. It might get as low as 0°F during the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Zone 7a and it changes from year to year. Half of the time in Zone 7a there is a last frost after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your santolina if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Zone 7a

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 Zone 7a

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Zone 7a.