One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

One way of figuring out when it's possible to plant canna is to refer to the USDA zone info for Columbia Falls.

Planting Calendar for Canna

Frost tolerance for canna:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost.

Since canna require warm weather you have to wait until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant canna 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 canna and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your canna may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your canna indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Columbia Falls and it will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Columbia Falls there is a last frost after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your canna 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.