One of the first steps you take when you are determining your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

In The Colony you can figure out when it's a good idea to plant salpiglossis by reviewing the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Salpiglossis

Frost tolerance for salpiglossis:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost has passed.

Salpiglossis do not do well in cold weather which means that it is necessary to wait until it warms up after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant salpiglossis in The Colony 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 salpiglossis and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your salpiglossis may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your salpiglossis indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In The Colony the average date of last frost happens on March 15. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 10°F.

Remember that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for The Colony and it is different every year. Half of the time in The Colony you get surprised by a frost after March 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your salpiglossis if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for The Colony

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 The Colony

You may be interested in your other planting guides for The Colony.