One of the first steps you take when you are determining your gardening schedule is find your 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.

One way of getting a good idea when it's the best time to plant osteospermum is to look at the USDA zone info for Albany.

Planting Calendar for Osteospermum

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

Since osteospermum do well in moderate cold you can plant them a little earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant osteospermum in Albany 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. Any later than that and your osteospermum may not have a chance to really do well. 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

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on March 15 in Albany. It might get as low as 15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Albany and it changes from year to year. Half of the time in Albany you get a frost after March 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your osteospermum if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Albany

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	15°F
Highest Expected Low	20°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 20°F.

Plants to Grow in Albany

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