One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

A common way of getting a good idea when you can plant columbine is to use the USDA zone info for Alvin.

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 bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant columbine in Alvin is January. However, you really should wait until February if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant columbine and expect a good harvest is probably October. If you wait any later than that and your columbine may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your columbine indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on February 15 in Alvin. You should expect an average low temperature of 20°F in the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Alvin is just an average and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Alvin you get surprised by a frost after February 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your columbine in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Alvin

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	20°F
Highest Expected Low	25°F

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

Plants to Grow in Alvin

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