When to Plant Torch Lilys in Columbus, NE

Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By using the USDA zone info for Columbus it's possible to determine when to plant torch lilys.


Planting Calendar for Torch Lilys

Frost tolerance for torch lilys: Very tolerant of frost.
When to plant: Up to 7 weeks before last frost.

Since torch lilys are one of those plants that can tolerate quite a bit of cold weather you can plant them quite a bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

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

The earliest that you can plant torch lilys 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 torch lilys and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your torch lilys may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your torch lilys indoors.

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for Columbus may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Columbus last frost occurs after April 15 so always be ready to protect your torch lilys in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Columbus

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low-15°F
Highest Expected Low-10°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 -10°F.

Plants to Grow in Columbus

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