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

In Rochelle you can estimate when you can plant columbine by using the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Columbine

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

Since columbine are moderately cold tolerant you can plant them a little earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant columbine in Rochelle 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 fully mature. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your columbine indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Rochelle. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -20°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Rochelle is just an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Rochelle you get a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your columbine if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Rochelle

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-20°F
Highest Expected Low	-15°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -15°F.

Plants to Grow in Rochelle

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