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 first chance to plant coleus in Missoula can be determined by reviewing the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Coleus

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

Coleus require warm weather which means that it's important to wait until it warms up after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

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

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on April 15 in Missoula. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Missoula is an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Missoula it frosts late in the year after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your coleus if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Missoula

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-15°F
Highest Expected Low	-10°F

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

Plants to Grow in Missoula

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