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.

By reviewing the USDA zone info for Dowagiac it's a good idea to determine when it's the best time to plant dipladenia.

Planting Calendar for Dipladenia

Frost tolerance for dipladenia:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost has passed.

It's not a good idea to plant dipladenia until after the last frost has passed because they require warm weather.

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

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on April 15 in Dowagiac. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Dowagiac is not always accurate the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Dowagiac you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your dipladenia in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Dowagiac

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 Dowagiac

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