When to Plant Delphinium in Whitefish, MT

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

You should be able to determine when to plant delphinium by looking at the USDA zone info for Whitefish.


Planting Calendar for Delphinium

Frost tolerance for delphinium: Tolerant of a very small amount of frost.
When to plant: Up to 3 weeks before last frost.

Delphinium are barely cold tolerant which means that you can start planting them slightly earlier than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

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

The earliest that you can plant delphinium in Whitefish 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 delphinium and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your delphinium may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your delphinium indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Whitefish the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You should expect an average low temperature of -20°F in the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Whitefish and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Whitefish you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your delphinium in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Whitefish

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low-20°F
Highest Expected Low-15°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -15°F.

Plants to Grow in Whitefish

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