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

The USDA zone info for Merrillville can be read to figure out when to plant flower-of-an-hour.

Planting Calendar for Flower-of-an-Hour

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

Flower-of-an-Hour are barely cold tolerant which tells us that you can get them planted just a bit earlier than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant flower-of-an-hour in Merrillville 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 flower-of-an-hour and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your flower-of-an-hour may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your flower-of-an-hour indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Merrillville the average date of last frost happens on April 15. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Merrillville is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Merrillville there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to protect your flower-of-an-hour in the event of a late frost.

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.