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.

The USDA zone info for Columbia should be reviewed to figure out when it's a good idea to plant scabiosa.

Planting Calendar for Scabiosa

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

Scabiosa tend to make it in moderate cold which tells us that you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant scabiosa 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 scabiosa and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your scabiosa may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your scabiosa indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks 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.

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 Columbia and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Columbia you get a frost after March 15 be ready to cover your scabiosa in the event of 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.