One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about 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.

You can estimate when it's a good idea to plant stocks in Columbia Falls by using the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Stocks

Frost tolerance for stocks:	Tolerant of a very small amount of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 3 weeks before last frost.

Stocks are one of those plants that can tolerate a tiny bit of cold weather which means that you can plant them slightly earlier than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant stocks in Columbia Falls is March. However, you really should wait until April if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant stocks and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your stocks may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your stocks indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Columbia Falls the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -20°F.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Columbia Falls is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Columbia Falls it frosts late in the year after April 15 be ready to protect your stocks if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Columbia Falls

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 Columbia Falls

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Columbia Falls.