One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The first chance to plant coleus in Decorah should be figured out by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Coleus

Frost tolerance for coleus:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After all chance of frost has passed.

Coleus are not cold tolerant which means that you need to wait until it warms up after the last frost before you can plant them.

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

The last month that you can plant coleus and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your coleus may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your coleus indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Decorah the average date of last frost happens on May 15. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -25°F.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Decorah is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Decorah last frost occurs after May 15 so always be ready to cover your coleus if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Decorah

Here is the info for USDA Zone 4b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	September 15
Lowest Expected Low	-25°F
Highest Expected Low	-20°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -25°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -20°F.

Plants to Grow in Decorah

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