Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

By referring to the USDA zone info for Chattanooga you should be able to figure out when it's a good idea 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 very cold tolerant which means that you can get them planted much earlier than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant lobelia in Chattanooga 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. If you wait any later than that and your lobelia may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your lobelia indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on April 15 in Chattanooga. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 5°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Chattanooga is just an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Chattanooga you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to protect your lobelia in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Chattanooga

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7b.

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

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

Plants to Grow in Chattanooga

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