One of the first steps you take when you are determining 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.

It's a good idea to estimate when it's a good idea to plant didiscus by checking out the USDA zone info for Alpena.

Planting Calendar for Didiscus

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

Didiscus are one of those plants that can tolerate a tiny bit of cold weather which tells us that you can plant them slightly earlier than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant didiscus in Alpena 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 didiscus and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your didiscus may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your didiscus indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Alpena the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Alpena may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Alpena you get a frost after April 15 so always be ready to protect your didiscus in the event of a surprise 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.