One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about 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.

In Benson you can figure out when it's possible to plant geranium by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Geranium

Frost tolerance for geranium:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost.

You really shouldn't plant geranium until after the last frost because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant geranium in Benson is April. However, you really should wait until May if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant geranium and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your geranium may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your geranium indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is March 15 in Benson. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 15°F.

Keep in mind 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 Benson and it will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Benson you get surprised by a frost after March 15 be ready to cover your geranium in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Benson

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	15°F
Highest Expected Low	20°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 20°F.

Plants to Grow in Benson

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