When to Plant Lavender in Ellensburg, WA

Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By referring to the USDA zone info for Ellensburg you will be able to figure out when it's possible to plant lavender.


Planting Calendar for Lavender

Frost tolerance for lavender: Tolerant of some frost.
When to plant: Up to 5 weeks before last frost.

Lavender can survive in a little bit of cold which tells us that you can plant them a little bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant lavender
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant lavender
Probably not a good time to plant lavender

The earliest that you can plant lavender in Ellensburg 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 lavender and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your lavender may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your lavender indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Ellensburg. You should expect an average low temperature of -5°F in the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Ellensburg and it changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Ellensburg last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to cover your lavender in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Ellensburg

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low-5°F
Highest Expected Low0°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 0°F.

Plants to Grow in Ellensburg

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