The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for Marion can be reviewed to determine when it's the best time to plant calliopsis.

Planting Calendar for Calliopsis

Frost tolerance for calliopsis:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After all chance of frost has passed.

It's a bad idea to plant calliopsis until after the last frost has passed because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant calliopsis in Marion 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 calliopsis and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your calliopsis may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your calliopsis indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Marion. It might get as low as -20°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Marion is an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Marion you get a frost after April 15 be ready to protect your calliopsis in the event of a surprise late frost.

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.