When to Plant Banana in Columbia, SC

The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The first chance to plant banana in Columbia can be figured out by reviewing the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Banana

Frost tolerance for banana: Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant: After the last frost when the weather gets warmer.

You really shouldn't plant banana until after the last frost because they do not do well in cold weather.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant banana
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant banana
Probably not a good time to plant banana

The earliest that you can plant banana in Columbia is April. However, you really should wait until May if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant banana and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your banana may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your banana indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on March 15 in Columbia. You can expect an average low temperature of 10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Columbia may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Columbia you get a frost after March 15 be ready to cover your banana if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Columbia

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)November 15
Lowest Expected Low10°F
Highest Expected Low15°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 15°F.

Plants to Grow in Columbia

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