One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the 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 Portage you should be able to determine when it's possible to plant xerianthemum.

Planting Calendar for Xerianthemum

Frost tolerance for xerianthemum:	Tolerant of a very small amount of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 3 weeks before last frost.

Since xerianthemum do ok in moderate cold you can plant them slightly earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant xerianthemum in Portage 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 xerianthemum and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your xerianthemum may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your xerianthemum indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Portage. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Portage is an average and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Portage you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your xerianthemum if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Portage

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-15°F
Highest Expected Low	-10°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 -10°F.

Plants to Grow in Portage

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