One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

A way of estimating when you can plant osteospermum is to check out the USDA zone info for Lancaster.

Planting Calendar for Osteospermum

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

You can plant osteospermum a little bit earlier in the year because they are moderately cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant osteospermum in Lancaster 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 fully mature. Starting your osteospermum indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for Lancaster is an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Lancaster you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your osteospermum if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Lancaster

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 Lancaster

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