One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out 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 USDA zone info for Michigan City should be read to figure out when it's the best time to plant rhubarb.

Planting Calendar for Rhubarb

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

Rhubarb do ok in some cold which tells us that you can plant them just a bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant rhubarb in Michigan City 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 rhubarb and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your rhubarb may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your rhubarb indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on April 15 in Michigan City. It might get as low as -10°F during the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Michigan City and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Michigan City you get a frost after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your rhubarb if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Michigan City

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-10°F
Highest Expected Low	-5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -5°F.

Plants to Grow in Michigan City

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Michigan City.