One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine 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 lobelia in Fort Madison can be determined by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Lobelia

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

Lobelia do well in cold which tells us that you can plant them much earlier than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant lobelia in Fort Madison 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 few weeks earlier by starting your lobelia indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Fort Madison. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Fort Madison is an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Fort Madison last frost occurs after April 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your lobelia if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Fort Madison

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-15°F
Highest Expected Low	-10°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 -10°F.

Plants to Grow in Fort Madison

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Fort Madison.