When to Plant Pumpkins in Brighton, MI

One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out 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.

In Brighton you can figure out when to plant pumpkins by referring to the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Pumpkins

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

Since pumpkins do not do well in cold weather it is important to wait until after the last frost before you can plant them.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant pumpkins
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant pumpkins
Probably not a good time to plant pumpkins

The earliest that you can plant pumpkins in Brighton 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 pumpkins and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your pumpkins may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your pumpkins indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Brighton. You can expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Brighton may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Brighton last frost occurs after April 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your pumpkins if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Brighton

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low-15°F
Highest Expected Low-10°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -10°F.

Plants to Grow in Brighton

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Brighton.