Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

By referring to the USDA zone info for Mena it's possible to estimate when it's the best time to plant lobelia.

Planting Calendar for Lobelia

Frost tolerance for lobelia:	Very tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 7 weeks before last frost.

Lobelia do ok in quite a bit of cold which means that you can plant them a lot earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant lobelia in Mena 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 lobelia and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your lobelia may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your lobelia indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on April 15 in Mena. It might get as low as 5°F during the coldest months of winter.

Remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Mena and it changes from year to year. Half of the time in Mena last frost occurs after April 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your lobelia in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Mena

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 Mena

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