One of the first steps you take when you are estimating 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 Dowagiac can be reviewed to figure out when it's possible to plant tropical water plants.

Planting Calendar for Tropical Water Plants

Frost tolerance for tropical water plants:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost.

It's a bad idea to plant tropical water plants until after all chance of frost has passed because they require warm weather.

The earliest that you can plant tropical water plants 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 tropical water plants and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your tropical water plants may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your tropical water plants indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on April 15 in Dowagiac. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Always keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Dowagiac and it changes from year to year. Half of the time in Dowagiac you get a frost after April 15 so always be ready to cover your tropical water plants in the event of a late frost.

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.