One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The earliest that you can plant arctotis in Mankato should be figured out by using the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Arctotis

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

Arctotis do well in moderate cold which tells us that you can plant them earlier than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant arctotis in Mankato 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 arctotis and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your arctotis may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your arctotis indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Mankato is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Mankato there is a last frost after May 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your arctotis if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Mankato

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 Mankato

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Mankato.