When to Plant Begonias in Columbia Falls, MT

Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. 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 Columbia Falls should be used to determine when it's the best time to plant begonias.


Planting Calendar for Begonias

Frost tolerance for begonias: Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant: After the last frost when the weather gets warmer.

Begonias do not do well in cold weather which means that you need to wait until it warms up after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant begonias
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant begonias
Probably not a good time to plant begonias

The earliest that you can plant begonias in Columbia Falls is April. However, you really should wait until May if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant begonias and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your begonias may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your begonias indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on April 15 in Columbia Falls. It might get as low as -20°F during the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Columbia Falls and it changes from year to year. Half of the time in Columbia Falls it frosts late in the year after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your begonias if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Columbia Falls

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low-20°F
Highest Expected Low-15°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -15°F.

Plants to Grow in Columbia Falls

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