One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine 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.

One way of getting a good idea when you can plant bellis is to consult the USDA zone info for Marion.

Planting Calendar for Bellis

Frost tolerance for bellis:	Tolerant of some frost.
When to plant:	Up to 5 weeks before last frost.

Bellis are moderately cold tolerant which means that you can plant them a little bit earlier than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant bellis in Marion 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 bellis and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your bellis may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your bellis indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on April 15 in Marion. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -20°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Marion is not always accurate the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Marion last frost occurs after April 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your bellis if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Marion

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 Marion

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