When to Plant Amaranthus in Columbia, IL

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

By referring to the USDA zone info for Columbia you will be able to determine when it's possible to plant amaranthus.


Planting Calendar for Amaranthus

Frost tolerance for amaranthus: Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant: After all chance of frost has passed.

It's probably a bad idea to plant amaranthus until after all chance of frost has passed because they require warm weather.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant amaranthus
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant amaranthus
Probably not a good time to plant amaranthus

The earliest that you can plant amaranthus in Columbia is April. However, you really should wait until May if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant amaranthus and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your amaranthus may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your amaranthus indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on April 15 in Columbia. You should expect an average low temperature of -5°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Columbia may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Columbia last frost occurs after April 15 so always be ready to cover your amaranthus in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Columbia

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low-5°F
Highest Expected Low0°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -5°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 0°F.

Plants to Grow in Columbia

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