One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate 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 Turtle Creek you should be able to figure out when it's a good idea to plant columbine.

Planting Calendar for Columbine

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

You can plant columbine just a bit 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 columbine in Turtle Creek 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 columbine and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your columbine may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your columbine indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on April 15 in Turtle Creek. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -5°F.

Remember that USDA zone info for Turtle Creek is an average and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Turtle Creek there is a last frost after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your columbine in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Turtle Creek

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 Turtle Creek

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Turtle Creek.