One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule is the 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.

By using the USDA zone info for Columbia you should be able to determine when it's a good idea to plant pincushion flower.

Planting Calendar for Pincushion Flower

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

You can plant pincushion flower a little earlier in the year because they are one of those plants that can tolerate a little bit of cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant pincushion flower in Columbia 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 pincushion flower and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your pincushion flower may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your pincushion flower indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Columbia the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -5°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Columbia is just an average the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Columbia you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your pincushion flower if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Columbia

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 Columbia

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