Conditional — Some Areas
columbine (zones 3-8) reaches only part of Louisiana (8b-10b): zone 8 are in range, so where you are in the state decides it.
Columbine in Louisiana — the short answer
Columbine in Louisiana: hardy in zones 3–8, part sun, against a state median of ~298 frost-free days.
- Plant zones
- 3-8
- Manual horticultural correction (source not retained); NC State Extension and Missouri Botanical Garden, with the remaining rows from other published sources or Growable Ground compilation
- Louisiana zones
- 8b-10b
- USDA PHZM 2023
- Frost window
- Jan 30 - Feb 17 – Nov 30 - Dec 8
- NOAA RCC ACIS 1991-2020, 28°F
- Shortest county season
- 265 days
- NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020, county 28°F killing freeze
Plant data: Growable Ground Plant Database, compiled from FAO ECOCROP, USDA PLANTS and university Extension sources — per-field provenance varies and is published with the dataset.
Your yard isn't the whole zone.
Louisiana spans zones 8b-10b, but your yard has its own microclimate — slope, trees, and low spots shift frost and sun across a single parcel. Enter your address and we'll score columbine against your land's actual soil, sun, and frost.
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Louisiana is not one climate
A single Louisiana answer averages 64 counties whose growing seasons are 100 days apart — from 265 frost-free days in Claiborne County to 365 in Plaquemines County. Which end of that your land sits nearer changes what columbine can finish before the first hard freeze.
The middle half of 64 counties runs 285–313 days, with a median of 298 days — a 100-day span end to end.
Measured across 64 Louisiana counties. NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020, county 28°F killing freeze. Quartiles are order statistics — every figure shown is a value a real county recorded, not an interpolation. Your own site sits somewhere inside this range; a parcel report resolves where.
Where Columbine Stands in Louisiana
Columbine is rated for zones 3–8 — a cold floor USDA puts at -40 to -30°F. No Louisiana county sits inside it, so in open ground this is a grown-under-cover plant here rather than a bed plant — which is a statement about Louisiana winters, not about columbine.
Above the zone 8 ceiling
64 counties
- Bienville County · zone 8b
- Bossier County · zone 8b
- Caddo County · zone 8b
3 of 64 shown
Too little winter chill rather than too much cold — a low-chill selection is what changes it.
County hardiness zones: USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map (PHZM) 2023, per county. A zone is a 10°F band of average annual extreme minimum temperature, so the floor above is the band the plant's rating denotes, not a single measured kill point. Slope, shelter and cold-air drainage routinely move a site half a zone either way from its county figure — which is the part only your address resolves.
Zone Comparison
Columbine Needs
- USDA Zones: 3-8
- Sun: Part Sun
- Mature size: 2.5 ft tall
- Picking window: ~30 days of harvest
- Drought tolerance: Low
Louisiana Has
- USDA Zones: 8b-10b
- Last Hard Freeze (28°F): Jan 30 - Feb 17
- First Hard Freeze (28°F): Nov 30 - Dec 8
- Annual Rainfall: 50-65 inches
- Common Soils: Alluvial clay, Muck, Sandy loam
Plant Zone Range (zones 3-8)
Preferred Soil pH
Plant data: Growable Ground Plant Database, compiled from FAO ECOCROP, USDA PLANTS, and university Extension sources — per-field provenance varies and is published with the dataset. State data: USDA ARS PHZM 2023, NOAA Climate Normals, NRCS SSURGO.
When to Plant Columbine in Louisiana
The frost window
Across Louisiana, the last spring hard freeze (28°F) clears between Jan 30 and Feb 17, and the first fall hard freeze lands between Nov 30 and Dec 8 (NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020). Counting from the latest last freeze to the earliest first freeze, that's a 286-day window you can count on — up to 312 days on a mild site in a kind year. That marks the hard freeze, not the last light frost, so tender transplants usually wait another 2-3 weeks.
When to start the seed
Those dates are when columbine goes out, not when it starts. It is sown under cover about 8 weeks ahead, so counting back from Louisiana's late-side last freeze of Feb 17 is what fixes your sowing date — and a yard that clears frost earlier than the state's late date starts earlier still.
Frost window: NOAA Climate Normals 1991-2020. Plant timing fields: Growable Ground Plant Database — frost-free days from FAO ECOCROP, days to harvest from university Extension production guides, and growing-degree-day and chill-hour minimums that are compilation estimates rather than published figures. Your site's own frost dates can run earlier or later than the state range — a parcel report pins them down.
Soil + Drainage Fit
Columbine likes near-neutral soil (pH 6-8.5). That's the common-ground band across Louisiana's alluvial clay and muck — a soil test confirms it for your site. It will grow across that whole span, but it does best between pH 6.5 and 8 — worth knowing before you decide whether a Louisiana soil test result is a problem or just a number. Drainage matters: this plant wants well (dry spells). If your Louisiana site is heavier clay or sits in a low spot, raised beds or amendment with compost solve it.
Plant pH requirements: FAO ECOCROP and USDA PLANTS, with the remaining rows from other published sources or Growable Ground compilation. Drainage: FAO ECOCROP, with the remaining rows from other published sources or Growable Ground compilation. Louisiana soil profile from USDA NRCS SSURGO. Site-specific verification: a 30-minute soil test from your local Extension lab.
What Else to Consider for Columbine in Louisiana
Zone compatibility tells you about winter cold survival — but Louisiana growers also need to think about:
Extreme humidity and rainfall promote rot and fungal diseases
Poor drainage in delta and coastal areas
Hurricane damage risk from June through November
What to actually do about these — and the constraints that apply to every Louisiana grower, not just columbine — is covered on the Louisiana growing guide.
Where in Louisiana Columbine Is Zone-Hardy
Columbine is rated for USDA zones 3–8. Every Louisiana county sits above it. Even Bienville County, the state’s coldest at zone 8b, is milder than the plant’s zone 8 ceiling — the constraint here is winter chill it will not get, not cold it cannot take.
Across those 64 counties Louisiana’s winter-low ladder runs from zone 8b in Bienville County to zone 10a in Plaquemines County — 1.5 USDA zones of spread, which is 15°F between the two counties’ average coldest night of the year. None of that range reaches the band columbine needs, so here the statewide answer really is the answer.
County hardiness zones: USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map (PHZM) 2023, per county. Columbine’s zone 3–8 band: USDA PLANTS / Growable Ground plant database. A parcel report resolves your address’s own zone and frost dates rather than its county’s.
Pollinator + Wildlife Value
Columbine draws native bees, butterflies, hummingbirds, and moths (high value, Growable Ground Plant Database). Planting it near vegetable beds can lift fruit set on neighboring crops. Outdoors, columbine can only work that bloom inside Louisiana's frost window — roughly 298 days, opening after the last 28°F freeze (Jan 30 - Feb 17) and closing at the first (Nov 30 - Dec 8), per NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020.
Louisiana Cooperative Extension
For Louisiana-specific cultivar recommendations, planting calendars, and pest pressure for columbine, the canonical source is LSU AgCenter. Their fact sheets carry the local trial data we can't generalize across 50 states.
Common Questions About Growing Columbine in Louisiana
When can I plant Columbine in Louisiana?
Louisiana's last spring hard freeze (28°F) clears between Jan 30 and Feb 17, and the first fall hard freeze lands between Nov 30 and Dec 8 (NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020). Time outdoor planting to after the last hard freeze for your specific site — a further two to three weeks for anything tender — and count back from those dates for transplant scheduling.
What hardiness zone is Columbine grown in across Louisiana?
Louisiana spans USDA hardiness zones 8b-10b (USDA ARS PHZM 2023). Columbine carries a range of zones 3-8, so the overlap zones are where outdoor growing is most reliable.
How many frost-free days does a typical Louisiana site have?
A typical Louisiana site sees ~298 frost-free days per year (derived from NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020). Columbine should be matched against that window, so check whether your local microclimate runs above or below the state average before settling on a planting date.
How should I amend the soil for Columbine in Louisiana?
Columbine prefers pH 6-8.5 and well (dry spells) drainage (FAO ECOCROP). That sits in the common-ground band across Louisiana soils — a 30-minute soil test from a local Extension lab confirms it for your specific site.
Will Columbine actually grow on my specific land in Louisiana?
State-level zone + climate data is a sketch. A Growable Ground parcel report scores columbine against your address's exact soil pH, drainage, sun, and frost-date data drawn from USDA SSURGO, NOAA, and PRISM — not state averages.
Check your specific parcel in Louisiana
State-level data is a sketch. Your Growable Ground report scores columbine against your parcel's exact soil, sun, drainage, and frost data — not zone averages.
Three things about your lot that Louisiana columbine averages can't show:
We read public map data around Louisiana — soil, climate, flood, and parcel records. How we handle your address.
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Explore More
Growing guides for columbine
Explore Louisiana county by county
Louisiana carries 64 counties with their own USDA zone — a sample of the growing pages for columbine there:
Where else columbine grows
Columbine's zone band crosses state lines — these are the states closest to Louisiana in winter climate where it also has a page, plus the far ends of its range. Each one re-answers the question with that state's own record.
More to grow in Louisiana
Louisiana has a growing page for 1,030 plants — a rotating sample of the rest of the shelf.
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