When to Plant Osteospermum in Fitchburg, MA

Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate your garden schedule. 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 osteospermum in Fitchburg can be determined by looking at the USDA zone info.


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 earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant osteospermum
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant osteospermum
Probably not a good time to plant osteospermum

The earliest that you can plant osteospermum in Fitchburg 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. If you are starting your osteospermum indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Fitchburg. You should expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for Fitchburg and it is different every year. Half of the time in Fitchburg you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your osteospermum if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Fitchburg

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 Fitchburg

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