One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

You should be able to estimate when it's a good idea to plant balloon flower by reviewing the USDA zone info for Forest Lake.

Planting Calendar for Balloon Flower

Frost tolerance for balloon flower:	Tolerant of a very small amount of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 3 weeks before last frost.

You can plant balloon flower slightly earlier in the year because they are barely cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant balloon flower in Forest Lake is April. However, you really should wait until May if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant balloon flower and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your balloon flower may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your balloon flower indoors.

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for Forest Lake is just an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Forest Lake you get a frost after May 15 be ready to cover your balloon flower if you have a surprise 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.