Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

A common way of figuring out when it's a good idea to plant osteospermum is to look at the USDA zone info for Big Lake.

Planting Calendar for Osteospermum

Frost tolerance for osteospermum:	Tolerant of some frost.
When to plant:	Up to 5 weeks before last frost.

Osteospermum tend to make it in some cold which tells us that you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant osteospermum in Big Lake is March. However, you really should wait until April if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant osteospermum and expect a good harvest is probably August. 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 little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on May 15 in Big Lake. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -25°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Big Lake is not always accurate the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Big Lake you get a frost after May 15 so always be ready to cover your osteospermum in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Big Lake

Here is the info for USDA Zone 4b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	September 15
Lowest Expected Low	-25°F
Highest Expected Low	-20°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -25°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -20°F.

Plants to Grow in Big Lake

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Big Lake.