One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for Steamboat Springs can be read to estimate when it's possible 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.

Osteospermum do ok in a little bit of cold which means that you can plant them a little bit earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant osteospermum in Steamboat Springs 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 osteospermum and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your osteospermum may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your osteospermum indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is May 15 in Steamboat Springs. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -25°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Steamboat Springs may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Steamboat Springs you get a frost after May 15 be ready to protect your osteospermum in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Steamboat Springs

Here is the info for USDA Zone 4b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	September 15
Lowest Expected Low	-25°F
Highest Expected Low	-20°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -25°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -20°F.

Plants to Grow in Steamboat Springs

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Steamboat Springs.