One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out 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 best time to plant nigella in Manitou Springs can be figured out by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Nigella

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

You can plant nigella quite a bit earlier in the year because they are very cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant nigella in Manitou Springs 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 nigella and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your nigella may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your nigella indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on April 15 in Manitou Springs. You can expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Remember that USDA zone info for Manitou Springs is just an average and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Manitou Springs last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to cover your nigella if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Manitou Springs

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-15°F
Highest Expected Low	-10°F

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

Plants to Grow in Manitou Springs

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Manitou Springs.