One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea 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 referring to the USDA zone info for Laurel it's possible to figure out when it's the best time to plant lisianthus.

Planting Calendar for Lisianthus

Frost tolerance for lisianthus:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost when the weather gets warmer.

It's probably not a good idea to plant lisianthus until after the last frost has passed because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant lisianthus in Laurel is April. However, you really should wait until May if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant lisianthus and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your lisianthus may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your lisianthus indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is March 15 in Laurel. You should expect an average low temperature of 10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Laurel is an average the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Laurel there is a last frost after March 15 be ready to cover your lisianthus if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Laurel

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	10°F
Highest Expected Low	15°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 15°F.

Plants to Grow in Laurel

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