One of the first steps you take when you are estimating your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

A way of figuring out when to plant coral bells is to refer to the USDA zone info for Mankato.

Planting Calendar for Coral Bells

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

Coral Bells do ok in moderate cold which tells us that you can plant them a little earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

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

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on May 15 in Mankato. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -25°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Mankato may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Mankato you get surprised by a frost after May 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your coral bells in the event of one of those late frosts.

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.