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

By using the USDA zone info for Westchester it's a good idea to estimate when it's the best time to plant columbine.

Planting Calendar for Columbine

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

Columbine do well in moderate cold which means that you can get them planted earlier than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant columbine in Westchester 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 columbine and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your columbine may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your columbine indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Westchester. You can expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Westchester is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Westchester it frosts late in the year after April 15 be ready to protect your columbine if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Westchester

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 Westchester

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