Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for West Columbia can be read to determine when it's the best time to plant asters.

Planting Calendar for Asters

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

Asters can survive in a little bit of cold which means that you can plant them a little earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant asters in West Columbia 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 asters and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your asters may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your asters indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is March 15 in West Columbia. You can expect an average low temperature of 10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for West Columbia is not always accurate the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in West Columbia last frost occurs after March 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your asters if you have 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.