When to Plant Oenothera in Moorhead, MN

The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

A common way of getting a good idea when to plant oenothera is to look at the USDA zone info for Moorhead.


Planting Calendar for Oenothera

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

Oenothera are one of those plants that can tolerate a little bit of cold weather which means that you can plant them a little bit earlier than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant oenothera
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant oenothera
Probably not a good time to plant oenothera

The earliest that you can plant oenothera in Moorhead 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your oenothera may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your oenothera indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is May 15 in Moorhead. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -30°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Moorhead is an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Moorhead there is a last frost after May 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your oenothera in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Moorhead

Here is the info for USDA Zone 4a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)September 15
Lowest Expected Low-30°F
Highest Expected Low-25°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -30°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -25°F.

Plants to Grow in Moorhead

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