One of the first steps you take when you are determining 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 checking out the USDA zone info for Columbia you will be able to figure out when it's a good idea to plant coleus.

Planting Calendar for Coleus

Frost tolerance for coleus:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost has passed.

You can not plant coleus until after the last frost has passed because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant coleus 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 coleus and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your coleus may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your coleus indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Columbia the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You can expect an average low temperature of -5°F in the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Columbia 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 Columbia you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your coleus if you have one of those late frosts.

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 Low	0°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.