Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Franklin you can estimate when it's a good idea to plant osteospermum by using the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Osteospermum

Frost tolerance for osteospermum:	Tolerant of some frost.
When to plant:	Up to 5 weeks before last frost.

Since osteospermum are moderately cold tolerant you can plant them a little bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

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

The last month that you can plant osteospermum and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your osteospermum may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your osteospermum indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on April 15 in Franklin. You should expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Franklin is just an average the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Franklin it frosts late in the year after April 15 be ready to protect your osteospermum in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Franklin

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-15°F
Highest Expected Low	-10°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -10°F.

Plants to Grow in Franklin

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