One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the 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.

The USDA zone info for Bedford should be looked at to estimate when to plant osteospermum.

Planting Calendar for Osteospermum

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

Since osteospermum do well in moderate cold you can plant them just a bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant osteospermum in Bedford 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 osteospermum and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your osteospermum may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your osteospermum indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on April 15 in Bedford. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -10°F.

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for Bedford and it changes from year to year. Half of the time in Bedford there is a last frost after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your osteospermum in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Bedford

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-10°F
Highest Expected Low	-5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -5°F.

Plants to Grow in Bedford

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