Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate 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 Bethlehem can be read to determine when it's the best time to plant osteospermum.

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 Bethlehem 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 really do well. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your osteospermum indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Bethlehem. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -5°F.

Always keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Bethlehem and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Bethlehem last frost occurs after April 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your osteospermum if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Bethlehem

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-5°F
Highest Expected Low	0°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -5°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 0°F.

Plants to Grow in Bethlehem

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