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.

The first chance to plant peonies in Lansing should be determined by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Peonies

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

Peonies are one of those plants that can tolerate a tiny bit of cold weather which tells us that you can start planting them slightly earlier than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant peonies in Lansing 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 peonies and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your peonies may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your peonies indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Lansing. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Lansing is not always accurate the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Lansing you get a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your peonies in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Lansing

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 Lansing

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