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.

A way of getting a good idea when it's the best time to plant lavender is to examine the USDA zone info for Elk River.

Planting Calendar for Lavender

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

Lavender do well in moderate cold which tells us that you can start planting them earlier than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant lavender 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 lavender and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your lavender may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your lavender indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is May 15 in Elk River. You should expect an average low temperature of -25°F in the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Elk River is an average and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Elk River you get a frost after May 15 so always be ready to cover your lavender in the event of one of those late frosts.

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.