One of the first steps you take when you are determining 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 first chance to plant lavender in Mankato can be estimated by reviewing the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Lavender

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

Lavender do well in moderate cold which means that you can start planting them earlier than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant lavender 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 lavender and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your lavender may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your lavender indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for Mankato is an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Mankato last frost occurs after May 15 be ready to cover your lavender 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.