One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out 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 it's possible to plant flax by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Flax

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

Flax tend to make it in moderate cold which means that you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant flax in Columbia 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 flax and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your flax may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your flax indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is March 15 in Columbia. It might get as low as 15°F during 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 it frosts late in the year after March 15 be ready to cover your flax if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Columbia

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 Columbia

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