When to Plant Lavender in Northfield, MN

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.

By looking at the USDA zone info for Northfield it's possible to estimate when it's a good idea to plant lavender.


Planting Calendar for Lavender

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

Lavender can survive in a little bit of cold which tells us that you can plant them a little bit earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

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

The earliest that you can plant lavender in Northfield 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 really do well. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your lavender indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Northfield the average date of last frost happens on May 15. You can expect an average low temperature of -25°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Northfield is an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Northfield there is a last frost after May 15 so always be ready to protect your lavender if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Northfield

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 Northfield

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