When to Plant Primula in Ann Arbor, MI

One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate 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.

By looking at the USDA zone info for Ann Arbor it's a good idea to determine when you can plant primula.


Planting Calendar for Primula

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

Primula are very cold tolerant which means that you can start planting them much earlier than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

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

The earliest that you can plant primula in Ann Arbor 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 primula and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your primula may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your primula indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Ann Arbor. It might get as low as -10°F during the coldest months of winter.

Remember that USDA zone info for Ann Arbor 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 Ann Arbor you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your primula if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Ann Arbor

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low-10°F
Highest Expected Low-5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -5°F.

Plants to Grow in Ann Arbor

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Ann Arbor.