One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By referring to the USDA zone info for Alpena you should be able to determine when it's a good idea to plant trachelium.

Planting Calendar for Trachelium

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

You really shouldn't plant trachelium until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer because they require warm weather.

The earliest that you can plant trachelium 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 trachelium and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your trachelium may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your trachelium indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Alpena and it 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 make sure that you are ready to cover your trachelium if you have one of those late frosts.

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.