One of the first steps you take when you are estimating 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.

The USDA zone info for Dickinson should be used to estimate when to plant delphinium.

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.

You can plant delphinium slightly earlier in the year because they are one of those plants that can tolerate a tiny bit of cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant delphinium in Dickinson 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 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. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your delphinium indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is May 15 in Dickinson. It might get as low as -30°F during the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Dickinson and it will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Dickinson you get surprised by a frost after May 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your delphinium if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Dickinson

Here is the info for USDA Zone 4a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	September 15
Lowest Expected Low	-30°F
Highest Expected Low	-25°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -30°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -25°F.

Plants to Grow in Dickinson

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