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

One way of getting a good idea when it's the best time to plant columbine is to look at the USDA zone info for Fortuna.

Planting Calendar for Columbine

Frost tolerance for columbine:	Tolerant of some frost.
When to plant:	Up to 5 weeks before last frost.

Since columbine do well in moderate cold you can plant them a little bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant columbine in Fortuna 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 columbine and expect a good harvest is probably October. If you wait any later than that and your columbine may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your columbine indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is February 15 in Fortuna. It might get as low as 25°F during the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Fortuna is an average and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Fortuna you get a frost after February 15 be ready to protect your columbine if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Fortuna

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 Fortuna

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