When to Plant Lobelia in Spirit Lake, IA

The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

It's possible to estimate when it's the best time to plant lobelia by reviewing the USDA zone info for Spirit Lake.


Planting Calendar for Lobelia

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

Since lobelia do well in cold you can plant them much earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant lobelia
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant lobelia
Probably not a good time to plant lobelia

The earliest that you can plant lobelia in Spirit Lake 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your lobelia may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your lobelia indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on April 15 in Spirit Lake. It might get as low as -20°F during the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Spirit Lake is just an average and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Spirit Lake you get a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your lobelia if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Spirit Lake

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 Spirit Lake

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Spirit Lake.