When to Plant Hosta in Elk River, MN

One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine 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.

By looking at the USDA zone info for Elk River it's possible to figure out when you can plant hosta.


Planting Calendar for Hosta

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

Hosta do ok in mild cold which means that you can plant them a little earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant hosta
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant hosta
Probably not a good time to plant hosta

The earliest that you can plant hosta in Elk River is March. However, you really should wait until April if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant hosta and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your hosta may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your hosta indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on May 15 in Elk River. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -25°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Elk River is not always accurate the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Elk River last frost occurs after May 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your hosta in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Elk River

Here is the info for USDA Zone 4b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)September 15
Lowest Expected Low-25°F
Highest Expected Low-20°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -25°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -20°F.

Plants to Grow in Elk River

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Elk River.