The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By reviewing the USDA zone info for Manhattan it's a good idea to figure out when it's the best time 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 are moderately cold tolerant you can plant them a little bit earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant osteospermum in Manhattan 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. Starting your osteospermum indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on April 15 in Manhattan. It might get as low as -10°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Manhattan is an average the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Manhattan it frosts late in the year 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 Manhattan

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 Manhattan

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