Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate 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 looking at the USDA zone info for Decorah it's a good idea to figure out when you can plant lavender.

Planting Calendar for Lavender

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

Lavender do ok in mild cold which means that you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant lavender in Decorah 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 lavender and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your lavender may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your lavender indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on May 15 in Decorah. You should expect an average low temperature of -25°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Decorah is just an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Decorah it frosts late in the year after May 15 be ready to protect your lavender in the event of one of those late frosts.

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.