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

In South Bend you can figure out when it's a good idea to plant oenothera by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Oenothera

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

You can plant oenothera a bit earlier in the year because they are moderately cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant oenothera 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 oenothera and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your oenothera may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your oenothera indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In South Bend the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You can expect an average low temperature of -10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for South Bend is an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in South Bend there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to cover your oenothera if you have one of those late frosts.

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.