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.

By using the USDA zone info for Benton Harbor you should be able to determine when you can plant iberis.

Planting Calendar for Iberis

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

You can plant iberis a little earlier in the year because they do well in moderate cold.

The earliest that you can plant iberis 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 iberis and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your iberis may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your iberis indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on April 15 in Benton Harbor. You should expect an average low temperature of -5°F in the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Benton Harbor is just an average and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Benton Harbor last frost occurs after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your iberis in the event of 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.