One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

You will be able to estimate when it's the best time to plant osteospermum by reviewing the USDA zone info for Keokuk.

Planting Calendar for Osteospermum

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

Osteospermum do well in moderate cold which means that you can get them planted earlier than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant osteospermum in Keokuk 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. 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

On average the last frost is on April 15 in Keokuk. It might get as low as -10°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Keokuk may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Keokuk last frost occurs after April 15 so always be ready to cover your osteospermum in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Keokuk

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-10°F
Highest Expected Low	-5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -5°F.

Plants to Grow in Keokuk

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