One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about your gardening schedule is find your 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.

The USDA zone info for Jackson should be reffered to in order to determine when it's possible to plant columbine.

Planting Calendar for Columbine

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

Since columbine do well in moderate cold you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

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

The last month that you can plant columbine and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your columbine may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your columbine indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Jackson the average date of last frost happens on May 15. It might get as low as -25°F during the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Jackson and it will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Jackson you get surprised by a frost after May 15 so always be ready to protect your columbine in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Jackson

Here is the info for USDA Zone 4b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	September 15
Lowest Expected Low	-25°F
Highest Expected Low	-20°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -25°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -20°F.

Plants to Grow in Jackson

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