Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for La Junta can be used to figure out when it's a good idea to plant osteospermum.

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 just 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 La Junta 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 osteospermum and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your osteospermum may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your osteospermum indoors.

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for La Junta may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in La Junta it frosts late in the year after April 15 be ready to cover your osteospermum in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for La Junta

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 La Junta

You may be interested in your other planting guides for La Junta.