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

One way of figuring out when it's a good idea to plant columbine is to consult the USDA zone info for Sioux Falls.

Planting Calendar for Columbine

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

Since columbine are moderately cold tolerant you can plant them a little earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant columbine in Sioux Falls 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 columbine and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your columbine may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your columbine indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on May 15 in Sioux Falls. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -25°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Sioux Falls is just an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Sioux Falls last frost occurs after May 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your columbine in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Sioux Falls

Here is the info for USDA Zone 4b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	September 15
Lowest Expected Low	-25°F
Highest Expected Low	-20°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -25°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -20°F.

Plants to Grow in Sioux Falls

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Sioux Falls.