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

The USDA zone info for Ann Arbor should be used to estimate when it's the best time to plant pumpkins.

Planting Calendar for Pumpkins

Frost tolerance for pumpkins:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After all chance of frost has passed.

Pumpkins do not do well in cold weather which tells us that you really should wait until it warms up after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant pumpkins in Ann Arbor 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 pumpkins and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your pumpkins may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your pumpkins indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Ann Arbor. You should expect an average low temperature of -10°F in the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Ann Arbor may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Ann Arbor there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to protect your pumpkins in the event of a surprise 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.