The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for Manchester should be looked at to figure out when it's a good idea to plant lobelia.

Planting Calendar for Lobelia

Frost tolerance for lobelia:	Very tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 7 weeks before last frost.

Lobelia tend to make it in quite a bit of cold which means that you can plant them much earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant lobelia in Manchester 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 lobelia and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your lobelia may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your lobelia indoors.

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for Manchester is an average the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Manchester last frost occurs after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your lobelia if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Manchester

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 Manchester

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