One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By checking out the USDA zone info for Big Rapids you should be able to estimate when it's possible to plant gerbera.

Planting Calendar for Gerbera

Frost tolerance for gerbera:	Tolerant of a very small amount of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 3 weeks before last frost.

Since gerbera do ok in moderate cold 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 gerbera in Big Rapids is March. However, you really should wait until April if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant gerbera and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your gerbera may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your gerbera 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. It might get as low as -20°F during the coldest months of winter.

Remember that USDA zone info for Big Rapids is just an average and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Big Rapids you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your gerbera 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.