When to Plant Lobelia in Lowell, MA

Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out 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.

The USDA zone info for Lowell should be read to estimate when it's a good idea 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.

Since lobelia are one of those plants that can tolerate quite a bit of cold weather you can plant them earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

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 Lowell 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 grow to maturity. If you are starting your lobelia indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on April 15 in Lowell. You should expect an average low temperature of -10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Lowell may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Lowell you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to protect your lobelia in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Lowell

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 Lowell

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