One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine 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 best time to plant columbine in Columbus can be estimated by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Columbine

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

Columbine do well in moderate cold which tells us that you can get them planted earlier than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant columbine in Columbus 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 columbine and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your columbine may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your columbine indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Columbus is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Columbus there is a last frost after March 15 be ready to cover your columbine in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Columbus

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	15°F
Highest Expected Low	20°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 20°F.

Plants to Grow in Columbus

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