One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about 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 USDA zone info for Big Rapids can be read to estimate when it's possible to plant lavender.

Planting Calendar for Lavender

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

Since lavender are one of those plants that can tolerate a little bit of cold weather you can plant them a little earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant lavender 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 lavender and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your lavender may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your lavender indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Big Rapids the average date of last frost happens on April 15. It might get as low as -20°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Big Rapids is not always accurate the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Big Rapids it frosts late in the year after April 15 be ready to cover your lavender in the event of 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.