Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The first chance to plant osteospermum in Charles City should be figured out by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Osteospermum

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

Since osteospermum do well in moderate cold you can plant them a little earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant osteospermum in Charles City 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. If you wait any later than that and your osteospermum may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your osteospermum indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Charles City. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -20°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Charles City is not always accurate the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Charles City it frosts late in the year after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your osteospermum in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Charles City

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-20°F
Highest Expected Low	-15°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -15°F.

Plants to Grow in Charles City

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Charles City.