One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule is the 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 figuring out when it's a good idea to plant lavender is to refer to the USDA zone info for La Crosse.

Planting Calendar for Lavender

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

You can plant lavender a little bit earlier in the year because they are one of those plants that can tolerate a little bit of cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant lavender in La Crosse 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 and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your lavender may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your lavender indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for La Crosse is not always accurate the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in La Crosse last frost occurs after May 15 be ready to protect your lavender if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for La Crosse

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 La Crosse

You may be interested in your other planting guides for La Crosse.