The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us estimate 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.

A way of making a decision about when it's the best time to plant calliopsis is to look at the USDA zone info for Fort Collins.

Planting Calendar for Calliopsis

Frost tolerance for calliopsis:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After all chance of frost has passed.

It's a bad idea to plant calliopsis until after all chance of frost has passed because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant calliopsis in Fort Collins 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 calliopsis and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your calliopsis may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your calliopsis indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on April 15 in Fort Collins. You should expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Fort Collins and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Fort Collins it frosts late in the year after April 15 be ready to cover your calliopsis if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Fort Collins

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 Fort Collins

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Fort Collins.