One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate 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.

A way of estimating when to plant lenten rose is to use the USDA zone info for Columbia.

Planting Calendar for Lenten Rose

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

You can plant lenten rose a little earlier in the year because they do well in moderate cold.

The earliest that you can plant lenten rose in Columbia 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 lenten rose and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your lenten rose may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your lenten rose indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for Columbia is just an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Columbia there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to cover your lenten rose 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 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.