One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By checking out the USDA zone info for Eau Claire it's possible to determine when it's the best time to plant nicotiana.

Planting Calendar for Nicotiana

Frost tolerance for nicotiana:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost when the weather gets warmer.

Nicotiana do not do well in cold weather which means that you have to wait until it warms up after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant nicotiana in Eau Claire is May. However, you really should wait until June if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant nicotiana and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your nicotiana may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your nicotiana indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is May 15 in Eau Claire. It might get as low as -25°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Eau Claire is just an average the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Eau Claire you get a frost after May 15 be ready to protect your nicotiana in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Eau Claire

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 Eau Claire

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Eau Claire.