One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By reviewing the USDA zone info for Columbia you will be able to determine when it's a good idea to plant gazania.

Planting Calendar for Gazania

Frost tolerance for gazania:	Tolerant of a very small amount of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 3 weeks before last frost.

Gazania can survive in very little cold which tells us that you can plant them slightly earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

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

The last month that you can plant gazania and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your gazania may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your gazania indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Columbia the average date of last frost happens on March 15. You should expect an average low temperature of 10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Columbia and it is different every year. Since half of the time in Columbia it frosts late in the year after March 15 be ready to protect your gazania 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 Low	10°F
Highest Expected Low	15°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.