Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Alpena you can determine when it's a good idea to plant lavender cotton by using the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Lavender Cotton

Frost tolerance for lavender cotton:	Very tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 7 weeks before last frost.

Lavender Cotton do ok in cold weather which means that you can plant them quite a bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

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

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on April 15 in Alpena. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Alpena is just an average and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Alpena last frost occurs after April 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your lavender cotton if you have 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.