When to Plant Caladium in Alpena, MI

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.

You can estimate when it's possible to plant caladium in Alpena by using the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Caladium

Frost tolerance for caladium: Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant: After the last frost.

Caladium are not cold tolerant which means that it is necessary to wait until it warms up after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant caladium
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant caladium
Probably not a good time to plant caladium

The earliest that you can plant caladium in Alpena 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 caladium and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your caladium may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your caladium indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Alpena. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Alpena is just an average and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Alpena last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to protect your caladium in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Alpena

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 Alpena

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