One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out 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.

The USDA zone info for Columbus can be reffered to in order to estimate when it's possible to plant arctotis.

Planting Calendar for Arctotis

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

Arctotis tend to make it in moderate cold which tells us that you can plant them a little bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant arctotis in Columbus 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 arctotis and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your arctotis may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your arctotis indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is March 15 in Columbus. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 10°F.

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Columbus and it will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Columbus you get a frost after March 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your arctotis in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Columbus

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	10°F
Highest Expected Low	15°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 15°F.

Plants to Grow in Columbus

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