Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine 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.

You can determine when to plant stevia in Benson by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Stevia

Frost tolerance for stevia:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost has passed.

It's a bad idea to plant stevia until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant stevia in Benson is April. However, you really should wait until May if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant stevia and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your stevia may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your stevia indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

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 can expect an average low temperature of 15°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Benson is not always accurate the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Benson last frost occurs after March 15 be ready to cover your stevia if you have a surprise 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.