One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

A way of estimating when it's a good idea to plant schizanthus is to consult the USDA zone info for Columbia.

Planting Calendar for Schizanthus

Frost tolerance for schizanthus:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost.

You can not plant schizanthus until after all chance of frost has passed because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant schizanthus 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 schizanthus and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your schizanthus may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your schizanthus indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Columbia. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 0°F.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Columbia is an average and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Columbia it frosts late in the year after April 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your schizanthus if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Columbia

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	0°F
Highest Expected Low	5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 0°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 5°F.

Plants to Grow in Columbia

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