One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Marion you can determine when it's a good idea to plant lisianthus by checking out the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Lisianthus

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

Lisianthus require warm weather which means that it's important to wait until it warms up after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant lisianthus in Marion 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 lisianthus and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your lisianthus may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your lisianthus indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Marion the average date of last frost happens on April 15. It might get as low as -20°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Marion is an average the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Marion you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so always be ready to protect your lisianthus if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Marion

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 Marion

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