One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

One way of estimating when it's the best time to plant regal geranium is to look at the USDA zone info for West Lafayette.

Planting Calendar for Regal Geranium

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

Regal Geranium do ok in very little 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 regal geranium in West Lafayette 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 regal geranium and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your regal geranium may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your regal geranium indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on April 15 in West Lafayette. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Just be sure to remember 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 West Lafayette and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in West Lafayette there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to cover your regal geranium if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for West Lafayette

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 West Lafayette

You may be interested in your other planting guides for West Lafayette.