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.

You will be able to estimate when you can plant helianthemum by reviewing the USDA zone info for Big Rapids.

Planting Calendar for Helianthemum

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

You can plant helianthemum a little earlier in the year because they are moderately cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant helianthemum in Big Rapids 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 helianthemum and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your helianthemum may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your helianthemum indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on April 15 in Big Rapids. It might get as low as -20°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Big Rapids is just an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Big Rapids last frost occurs after April 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your helianthemum 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.