One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the 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.

In Minneapolis you can figure out when it's a good idea to plant arctotis by looking at 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 ok in moderate cold which tells us that you can plant them a little bit earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant arctotis in Minneapolis 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. Any later than that and your arctotis may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your arctotis indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on May 15 in Minneapolis. It might get as low as -25°F during the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for Minneapolis and it is different every year. Since half of the time in Minneapolis you get a frost after May 15 be ready to protect your arctotis if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Minneapolis

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 Minneapolis

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