One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea 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.

One way of figuring out when to plant columbine is to use the USDA zone info for Peoria.

Planting Calendar for Columbine

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

Columbine tend to make it in mild cold which tells us that you can plant them a little bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant columbine in Peoria 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 columbine and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your columbine may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your columbine 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 Peoria. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Peoria is an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Peoria you get a frost after April 15 so always be ready to cover your columbine in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Peoria

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5b.

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

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -10°F.

Plants to Grow in Peoria

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