Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

A common way of determining when you can plant begonias is to check out the USDA zone info for Big Rapids.

Planting Calendar for Begonias

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

Since begonias are not cold tolerant it is necessary to wait until after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant begonias in Big Rapids 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 begonias and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your begonias may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your begonias indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on April 15 in Big Rapids. You should expect an average low temperature of -20°F in the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Big Rapids and it will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Big Rapids you get a frost after April 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your begonias if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Big Rapids

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-20°F
Highest Expected Low	-15°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -15°F.

Plants to Grow in Big Rapids

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Big Rapids.