One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate 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.

It's possible to estimate when it's possible to plant columbine by using the USDA zone info for Stafford.

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 one of those plants that can tolerate a little bit of cold weather 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 columbine in Stafford 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. 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 few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on February 15 in Stafford. You can expect an average low temperature of 20°F in the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Stafford and it is different every year. Since half of the time in Stafford last frost occurs after February 15 be ready to cover your columbine in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Stafford

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 Stafford

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