One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Minneapolis you can figure out when you can plant columbine by looking at 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.

Columbine do well in moderate cold which tells us that you can plant them earlier than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant columbine in Minneapolis 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 columbine and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your columbine may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your columbine indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Minneapolis the average date of last frost happens on May 15. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -25°F.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Minneapolis is just an average and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Minneapolis you get a frost after May 15 be ready to cover your columbine in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Minneapolis

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 Minneapolis

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