One of the first steps you take when you are estimating 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.

By using the USDA zone info for Bartow you should be able to determine when to plant columbine.

Planting Calendar for Columbine

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

You can plant columbine a little bit earlier in the year because they are moderately cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant columbine in Bartow is January. However, you really should wait until February if you don't want to take any chances.

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

Last Frost Date

In Bartow the average date of last frost happens on February 15. It might get as low as 25°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Bartow is just an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Bartow last frost occurs after February 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your columbine if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Bartow

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	25°F
Highest Expected Low	30°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 30°F.

Plants to Grow in Bartow

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