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.

The USDA zone info for Merrillville can be used to estimate when it's a good idea 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 plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant osteospermum in Merrillville 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. If you wait any later than that and your osteospermum may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your osteospermum indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Merrillville. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Merrillville and it changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Merrillville last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to cover your osteospermum if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Merrillville

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 Merrillville

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