frostdate name logo in white
frostdate name logo in white

When to Plant Purple Bell Vines in Big Rapids, MI

One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule is the 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 getting a good idea when it's a good idea to plant purple bell vines is to check out the USDA zone info for Big Rapids.


Planting Calendar for Purple Bell Vines

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

Purple Bell Vines do ok in a tiny bit of cold which means that you can plant them just a tiny bit earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant purple bell vines
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant purple bell vines
Probably not a good time to plant purple bell vines

The earliest that you can plant purple bell vines 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 purple bell vines and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your purple bell vines may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your purple bell vines indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last 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 changes from year to year. Half of the time in Big Rapids it frosts late in the year after April 15 so always be ready to protect your purple bell vines 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.