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 achimenes in West Columbia should be estimated by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Achimenes

Frost tolerance for achimenes:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After all chance of frost has passed.

It's probably not a good idea to plant achimenes until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant achimenes in West 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 achimenes and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your achimenes may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your achimenes indoors.

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for West Columbia is just an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in West Columbia it frosts late in the year after March 15 be ready to protect your achimenes in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for West 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 West Columbia

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