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.

The first chance to plant osteospermum in Forest Lake can be figured out by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Osteospermum

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

Osteospermum tend to make it in mild cold which means that you can plant them just a bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant osteospermum 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 osteospermum and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your osteospermum may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your osteospermum 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. You can expect an average low temperature of -25°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Forest Lake may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost will vary 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 osteospermum 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.