One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about 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 Columbus you can estimate when it's the best time to plant oleander by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Oleander

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

You should not plant oleander until after the last frost because they require warm weather.

The earliest that you can plant oleander in Columbus 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 oleander and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your oleander may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your oleander indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Columbus. You should expect an average low temperature of -20°F in the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Columbus may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Columbus it frosts late in the year after April 15 so always be ready to protect your oleander in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Columbus

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-20°F
Highest Expected Low	-15°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 -15°F.

Plants to Grow in Columbus

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