One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The earliest that you can plant lavender in El Dorado should be figured out by reviewing the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Lavender

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

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

The earliest that you can plant lavender in El Dorado 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 lavender and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your lavender may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your lavender indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In El Dorado the average date of last frost happens on April 15. It might get as low as -5°F during the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for El Dorado is just an average and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in El Dorado you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so always be ready to cover your lavender if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for El Dorado

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-5°F
Highest Expected Low	0°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -5°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 0°F.

Plants to Grow in El Dorado

You may be interested in your other planting guides for El Dorado.