One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about 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.

In Benton Harbor you can determine when to plant hamelia by checking out the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Hamelia

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

It's a bad idea to plant hamelia until after the last frost because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant hamelia in Benton Harbor 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 hamelia and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your hamelia may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your hamelia indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Benton Harbor. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -5°F.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Benton Harbor is an average and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Benton Harbor you get a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your hamelia if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Benton Harbor

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-5°F
Highest Expected Low	0°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -5°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 0°F.

Plants to Grow in Benton Harbor

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Benton Harbor.