One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea 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.

By looking at the USDA zone info for South Bend it's possible to determine when it's possible to plant lobelia.

Planting Calendar for Lobelia

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

You can plant lobelia much earlier in the year because they are one of those plants that can tolerate quite a bit of cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant lobelia in South Bend 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. Any later than that and your lobelia may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your lobelia indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on April 15 in South Bend. It might get as low as -10°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for South Bend is just an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in South Bend you get a frost after April 15 be ready to protect your lobelia if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for South Bend

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-10°F
Highest Expected Low	-5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -5°F.

Plants to Grow in South Bend

You may be interested in your other planting guides for South Bend.