One of the first steps you take when you are estimating your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The best time to plant columbine in Mount Washington can be estimated 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 do well in moderate cold you can plant them a little bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant columbine in Mount Washington 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 grow to maturity. If you are starting your columbine indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Mount Washington the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You can expect an average low temperature of -5°F in the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Mount Washington and it is different every year. Half of the time in Mount Washington it frosts late in the year after April 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your columbine if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Mount Washington

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-5°F
Highest Expected Low	0°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -5°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 0°F.

Plants to Grow in Mount Washington

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Mount Washington.