One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea 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.

One way of estimating when it's the best time to plant lavender cotton is to check out the USDA zone info for Madison.

Planting Calendar for Lavender Cotton

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

Since lavender cotton do well in cold you can plant them earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant lavender cotton in Madison 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 lavender cotton and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your lavender cotton may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your lavender cotton indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Madison the average date of last frost happens on May 15. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -25°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Madison is not always accurate the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Madison there is a last frost after May 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your lavender cotton if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Madison

Here is the info for USDA Zone 4b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	September 15
Lowest Expected Low	-25°F
Highest Expected Low	-20°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -25°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -20°F.

Plants to Grow in Madison

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