One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out your gardening schedule is find your 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.

In Castle Rock you can determine when it's the best time to plant cosmos by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Cosmos

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

Since cosmos are one of those plants that can tolerate a tiny bit of cold weather you can plant them just a tiny bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant cosmos in Castle Rock 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 cosmos and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your cosmos may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your cosmos 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 Castle Rock. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Castle Rock is just an average and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Castle Rock you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your cosmos if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Castle Rock

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 Castle Rock

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Castle Rock.