The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us estimate 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.

One way of determining when it's the best time to plant lemon grass is to refer to the USDA zone info for Helena.

Planting Calendar for Lemon grass

Frost tolerance for lemon grass:	Tolerant of a very small amount of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 3 weeks before last frost.

Lemon grass can survive in a tiny bit of cold which tells us that you can plant them just a tiny bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant lemon grass in Helena 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 lemon grass and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your lemon grass may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your lemon grass indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is March 15 in Helena. It might get as low as 10°F during the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Helena is just an average and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Helena you get surprised by a frost after March 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your lemon grass in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Helena

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	10°F
Highest Expected Low	15°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 15°F.

Plants to Grow in Helena

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