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.

You should be able to estimate when it's the best time to plant peonies by referring to the USDA zone info for Lake Elmo.

Planting Calendar for Peonies

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

Peonies do ok in moderate cold which tells us that you can start planting them slightly earlier than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant peonies in Lake Elmo 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 peonies and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your peonies may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your peonies indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Lake Elmo is an average and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Lake Elmo you get surprised by a frost after May 15 be ready to protect your peonies in the event of one of those late frosts.

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.