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

By using the USDA zone info for Tacoma you will be able to determine 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.

Since lobelia do well in cold you can plant them a lot earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant lobelia in Tacoma 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. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your lobelia indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is March 15 in Tacoma. You should expect an average low temperature of 15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Tacoma is just an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Tacoma you get surprised by a frost after March 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your lobelia if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Tacoma

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	15°F
Highest Expected Low	20°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 20°F.

Plants to Grow in Tacoma

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