One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The first chance to plant caladium in Big Rapids can be estimated by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Caladium

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

Since caladium do not do well in cold weather it is important to wait until after the last frost before you can plant them.

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

Last Frost Date

In Big Rapids the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You can expect an average low temperature of -20°F in the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Big Rapids is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Big Rapids last frost occurs after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your caladium if you have a 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.