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

In South Bend you can determine when to plant dipladenia by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Dipladenia

Frost tolerance for dipladenia:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost has passed.

It's probably a bad idea to plant dipladenia until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant dipladenia in South Bend 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 dipladenia and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your dipladenia may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your dipladenia indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In South Bend the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You should expect an average low temperature of -10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for South Bend and it is different every year. Since half of the time in South Bend it frosts late in the year after April 15 be ready to cover your dipladenia in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for South Bend

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 South Bend

You may be interested in your other planting guides for South Bend.