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.

The best time to plant oenothera in Minneapolis can be determined by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Oenothera

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

You can plant oenothera a little bit earlier in the year because they do well in moderate cold.

The earliest that you can plant oenothera 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 oenothera and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your oenothera may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your oenothera indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is May 15 in Minneapolis. You can expect an average low temperature of -25°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Minneapolis may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Minneapolis you get surprised by a frost after May 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your oenothera 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.