When to Plant Osteospermum in Zone 3a

The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

A common way of getting a good idea when to plant osteospermum is to check out the USDA zone info for Zone 3a.


Planting Calendar for Osteospermum

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

Osteospermum are one of those plants that can tolerate a little bit of cold weather which tells us that you can start planting them earlier than more sensitive plants.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant osteospermum
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant osteospermum
Probably not a good time to plant osteospermum

The earliest that you can plant osteospermum in Zone 3a 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 osteospermum and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your osteospermum may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your osteospermum indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is May 15 in Zone 3a. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -40°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Zone 3a is not always accurate the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Zone 3a last frost occurs after May 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your osteospermum in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Zone 3a

Here is the info for USDA Zone 3a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)September 15
Lowest Expected Low-40°F
Highest Expected Low-35°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -40°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -35°F.

Plants to Grow in Zone 3a

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Zone 3a.