One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out 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 using the USDA zone info for Ripon it's a good idea to determine when it's possible 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 one of those plants that can tolerate quite a bit of cold weather you can plant them quite a bit earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant larkspur in Ripon 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 larkspur and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your larkspur may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your larkspur indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Ripon the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -20°F.

Remember that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for Ripon and it will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Ripon you get a frost after April 15 be ready to protect your larkspur if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Ripon

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-20°F
Highest Expected Low	-15°F

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

Plants to Grow in Ripon

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