Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By using the USDA zone info for Zone 12a you should be able to figure out when it's a good idea 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.

You can plant columbine a little earlier in the year because they do well in moderate cold.

The earliest that you can plant columbine in Zone 12a is January. However, you really should wait until February if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant columbine and expect a good harvest is probably November. Any later than that and 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 Zone 12a it never frosts. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 50°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Zone 12a is just an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since it never frosts in Zone 12a you do not have to be ready to cover your columbine in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Zone 12a

Here is the info for USDA Zone 12a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	Never
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	Never
Lowest Expected Low	50°F
Highest Expected Low	55°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 50°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 55°F.

Plants to Grow in Zone 12a

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Zone 12a.