Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

One way of determining when it's a good idea to plant bachelor buttons is to consult the USDA zone info for Merrillville.

Planting Calendar for Bachelor Buttons

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

Bachelor Buttons do ok in mild cold which tells us that you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

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

Last Frost Date

In Merrillville the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You should expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Merrillville is an average the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Merrillville last frost occurs after April 15 so always be ready to protect your bachelor buttons if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Merrillville

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 Merrillville

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