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

It's possible to figure out when it's the best time to plant delphinium by checking out the USDA zone info for Lima.

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.

Since delphinium are one of those plants that can tolerate a tiny bit of cold weather you can plant them just a tiny bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant delphinium in Lima 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. Any later than that and your delphinium may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your delphinium indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Lima. You can expect an average low temperature of -10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Lima is just an average and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Lima it frosts late in the year after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your delphinium if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Lima

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 Lima

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