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

In Forest Lake you can determine when you can plant oenothera by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Oenothera

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

You can plant oenothera a little bit earlier in the year because they do well in moderate cold.

The earliest that you can plant oenothera 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 oenothera and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your oenothera may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your oenothera indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Forest Lake the average date of last frost happens on May 15. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -25°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Forest Lake may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Forest Lake there is a last frost after May 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your oenothera if you have one of those late frosts.

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.