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

A way of making a decision about when it's a good idea to plant osteospermum is to refer to the USDA zone info for Johnstown.

Planting Calendar for Osteospermum

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

Osteospermum do ok in a little bit of cold which tells us that you can plant them a little bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant osteospermum in Johnstown 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 osteospermum and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your osteospermum may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your osteospermum indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for Johnstown may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Johnstown there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to cover your osteospermum if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Johnstown

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 Johnstown

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