One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea 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 Independence should be used to figure out when it's the best time 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 are one of those plants that can tolerate quite a bit of cold weather which tells us that you can plant them a quite a bit earlier than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant lobelia in Independence 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 really do well. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your lobelia indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Independence the average date of last frost happens on April 15. It might get as low as -10°F during the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Independence is an average and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Independence you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your lobelia in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Independence

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-10°F
Highest Expected Low	-5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -5°F.

Plants to Grow in Independence

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