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

One way of getting a good idea when it's possible to plant bachelor buttons is to refer to the USDA zone info for Lake Elmo.

Planting Calendar for Bachelor Buttons

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

Since bachelor buttons do well in moderate cold you can plant them a little bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant bachelor buttons in Lake Elmo 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 bachelor buttons and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your bachelor buttons may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your bachelor buttons indoors.

Last Frost Date

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

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Lake Elmo and it is different every year. Half of the time in Lake Elmo there is a last frost after May 15 so always be ready to protect your bachelor buttons in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Lake Elmo

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 Lake Elmo

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