One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

A common way of making a decision about when it's a good idea to plant plectranthus is to examine the USDA zone info for Big Rapids.

Planting Calendar for Plectranthus

Frost tolerance for plectranthus:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost when the weather gets warmer.

It's not a good idea to plant plectranthus until after the last frost has passed because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant plectranthus 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 plectranthus and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your plectranthus may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your plectranthus indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few 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 last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to protect your plectranthus 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.