When to Plant Gaillardia in Eaton Rapids, MI

The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

The first opportunity to plant gaillardia in Eaton Rapids can be figured out by looking at the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Gaillardia

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

Gaillardia tend to make it in some cold which tells us that you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant gaillardia
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant gaillardia
Probably not a good time to plant gaillardia

The earliest that you can plant gaillardia in Eaton Rapids 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 gaillardia and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your gaillardia may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your gaillardia indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Eaton Rapids the average date of last frost happens on April 15. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Eaton Rapids is just an average the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Eaton Rapids there is a last frost after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your gaillardia if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Eaton Rapids

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 Eaton Rapids

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Eaton Rapids.