One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out 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 first chance to plant columbine in Hammond should be figured out by looking at 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.

Columbine do ok in moderate cold which means that you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant columbine in Hammond 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. Any later than that and your columbine may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your columbine indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on April 15 in Hammond. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Hammond is just an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Hammond it frosts late in the year after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your columbine if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Hammond

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 Hammond

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