One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

A common way of estimating when it's a good idea to plant lobelia is to check out the USDA zone info for Clayton.

Planting Calendar for Lobelia

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

Since lobelia do well in cold you can plant them a lot earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant lobelia in Clayton 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your lobelia may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your lobelia indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Clayton. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 0°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Clayton is an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Clayton you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your lobelia in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Clayton

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	0°F
Highest Expected Low	5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 0°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 5°F.

Plants to Grow in Clayton

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