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.

One way of getting a good idea when it's a good idea to plant asters is to use the USDA zone info for Forest Lake.

Planting Calendar for Asters

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

Since asters are moderately cold tolerant you can plant them just a bit earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant asters in Forest Lake 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 asters and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your asters may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your asters indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is May 15 in Forest Lake. It might get as low as -25°F during the coldest months of winter.

Remember that USDA zone info for Forest Lake is just an average and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Forest Lake it frosts late in the year after May 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your asters in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Forest Lake

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 Forest Lake

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Forest Lake.