Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

You will be able to determine when to plant lunaria by looking at the USDA zone info for Missoula.

Planting Calendar for Lunaria

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

Since lunaria are one of those plants that can tolerate a little bit of cold weather you can plant them a little earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant lunaria in Missoula is February. However, you really should wait until March if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant lunaria and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your lunaria may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your lunaria indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Missoula. You should expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Remember that USDA zone info for Missoula is an average and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Missoula you get a frost after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your lunaria in the event of a surprise 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.