One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out your gardening schedule is find your 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.

The earliest that you can plant pole beans in Alpena can be estimated by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Pole beans

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

It's probably a bad idea to plant pole beans until after all chance of frost has passed because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant pole beans 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 pole beans and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your pole beans may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your pole beans indoors.

Last Frost Date

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

Remember that USDA zone info for Alpena is an average and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Alpena it frosts late in the year after April 15 so always be ready to cover your pole beans if you have 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.