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 checking out the USDA zone info for Natchitoches you should be able to estimate when it's possible to plant columbine.

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 earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant columbine in Natchitoches 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 little bit earlier by starting your columbine indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Natchitoches the average date of last frost happens on March 15. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 15°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Natchitoches is just an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Natchitoches you get a frost after March 15 be ready to cover your columbine in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Natchitoches

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	15°F
Highest Expected Low	20°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 20°F.

Plants to Grow in Natchitoches

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