One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about 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.

In Columbia you can determine when to plant salsify by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Salsify

Frost tolerance for salsify:	Tolerant of a very small amount of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 3 weeks before last frost.

Salsify are barely cold tolerant which means that you can start planting them slightly earlier than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant salsify in Columbia 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 salsify and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your salsify may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your salsify indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Columbia the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You should expect an average low temperature of -10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Columbia may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Columbia there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to protect your salsify in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Columbia

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-10°F
Highest Expected Low	-5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -5°F.

Plants to Grow in Columbia

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