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.

The USDA zone info for Merrill can be used to estimate when it's a good idea to plant larkspur.

Planting Calendar for Larkspur

Frost tolerance for larkspur:	Very tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 7 weeks before last frost.

Since larkspur are very cold tolerant you can plant them much earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant larkspur in Merrill 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 larkspur and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your larkspur may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your larkspur 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 Merrill. You should expect an average low temperature of -30°F in the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Merrill and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Merrill last frost occurs after May 15 be ready to protect your larkspur in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Merrill

Here is the info for USDA Zone 4a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	September 15
Lowest Expected Low	-30°F
Highest Expected Low	-25°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -30°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -25°F.

Plants to Grow in Merrill

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