One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about 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.

In East Lansing you can estimate when you can plant achimenes by reviewing the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Achimenes

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

It's probably not a good idea to plant achimenes until after the last frost has passed because they do not do well in cold weather.

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

Last Frost Date

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

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for East Lansing is an average and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in East Lansing it frosts late in the year after April 15 be ready to protect your achimenes in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for East Lansing

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 East Lansing

You may be interested in your other planting guides for East Lansing.