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 Lake Elmo you can estimate when it's a good idea to plant pincushion flower by using the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Pincushion Flower

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

Pincushion Flower do ok 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 pincushion flower 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 pincushion flower and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your pincushion flower may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your pincushion flower indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

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