One of the first steps you take when you are determining 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 USDA zone info for Benton Harbor can be reviewed to estimate when to plant hosta.

Planting Calendar for Hosta

Frost tolerance for hosta:	Tolerant of some frost.
When to plant:	Up to 5 weeks before last frost.

Hosta can survive in moderate cold which tells us that you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

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

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Benton Harbor. It might get as low as -5°F during the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Benton Harbor is just an average and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Benton Harbor there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to protect your hosta in the event of one of those late frosts.

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.