The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By looking at the USDA zone info for Shelby you should be able to figure out when 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 do ok in quite a bit of cold which tells us that you can plant them quite a bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant lobelia in Shelby 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 fully mature. Starting your lobelia indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for Shelby is just an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Shelby there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to cover your lobelia in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Shelby

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 Shelby

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