The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The first opportunity to plant lavender in Fort Smith can be estimated by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Lavender

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

Lavender are moderately cold tolerant which tells us that you can start planting them earlier than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant lavender in Fort Smith is February. However, you really should wait until March if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant lavender and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your lavender may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your lavender indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Fort Smith. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 5°F.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Fort Smith is just an average and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Fort Smith it frosts late in the year after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your lavender in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Fort Smith

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	5°F
Highest Expected Low	10°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 5°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 10°F.

Plants to Grow in Fort Smith

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Fort Smith.