One of the first steps you take when you are determining your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

By using the USDA zone info for Benson it's a good idea to determine when it's a good idea to plant lovage.

Planting Calendar for Lovage

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

Lovage do well in very little cold which tells us that you can plant them slightly earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant lovage in Benson 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 lovage and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your lovage may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your lovage indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on March 15 in Benson. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 15°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Benson may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Benson there is a last frost after March 15 be ready to cover your lovage in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Benson

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	15°F
Highest Expected Low	20°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 20°F.

Plants to Grow in Benson

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