One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about 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.

In Mount Carmel you can figure out when it's the best time to plant osteospermum by using the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Osteospermum

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

Osteospermum are moderately cold tolerant which tells us that you can start planting them earlier than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant osteospermum in Mount Carmel 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 couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Mount Carmel. It might get as low as -10°F during the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Mount Carmel and it will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Mount Carmel you get a frost after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your osteospermum in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Mount Carmel

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-10°F
Highest Expected Low	-5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -5°F.

Plants to Grow in Mount Carmel

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Mount Carmel.