One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate 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 USDA zone info for Independence should be reffered to in order to figure out when it's the best time to plant four o' clock.

Planting Calendar for Four O' Clock

Frost tolerance for four o' clock:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost when the weather gets warmer.

Since four o' clock are not cold tolerant it's necessary to wait until after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

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

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Independence. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -20°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Independence is not always accurate the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Independence there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to protect your four o' clock in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Independence

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-20°F
Highest Expected Low	-15°F

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

Plants to Grow in Independence

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