The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule. 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 making a decision about when it's a good idea to plant osteospermum is to refer to the USDA zone info for Fairbanks.

Planting Calendar for Osteospermum

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

You can plant osteospermum a bit earlier in the year because they are one of those plants that can tolerate a little bit of cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant osteospermum in Fairbanks is April. However, you really should wait until May if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant osteospermum and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your osteospermum may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your osteospermum indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is May 15 in Fairbanks. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -50°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Fairbanks is just an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Fairbanks it frosts late in the year after May 15 be ready to cover your osteospermum if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Fairbanks

Here is the info for USDA Zone 2a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	August 15
Lowest Expected Low	-50°F
Highest Expected Low	-45°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -50°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -45°F.

Plants to Grow in Fairbanks

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