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.

In Hales Corners you can estimate when it's a good idea to plant columbine by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Columbine

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

Columbine do well in moderate cold which tells us that you can plant them earlier than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant columbine in Hales Corners 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 columbine and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your columbine may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your columbine indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for Hales Corners may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Hales Corners there is a last frost after April 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your columbine if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Hales Corners

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 Hales Corners

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Hales Corners.