Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

A way of determining when it's a good idea to plant lobelia is to consult the USDA zone info for Crete.

Planting Calendar for Lobelia

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

Lobelia are one of those plants that can tolerate quite a bit of cold weather which means that you can plant them much earlier than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant lobelia in Crete 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. If you wait any later than that and your lobelia may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your lobelia indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on April 15 in Crete. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Crete is not always accurate the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Crete it frosts late in the year after April 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your lobelia in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Crete

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 Crete

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