One of the first steps you take when you are estimating 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.

The USDA zone info for Sheldon can be read to determine when it's a good idea to plant oenothera.

Planting Calendar for Oenothera

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

Oenothera are moderately cold tolerant which means that you can plant them earlier than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant oenothera in Sheldon 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 oenothera and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your oenothera may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your oenothera indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on May 15 in Sheldon. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -25°F.

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Sheldon and it changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Sheldon you get a frost after May 15 be ready to protect your oenothera in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Sheldon

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 Sheldon

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