Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

You should be able to estimate when you can plant coleus by checking out the USDA zone info for East Lansing.

Planting Calendar for Coleus

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

Coleus are not cold tolerant which means that it's important to wait until it warms up after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant coleus 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 coleus and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your coleus may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your coleus indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Always keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for East Lansing and it changes from year to year. Half of the time in East Lansing you get a frost after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your coleus if you have one of those late frosts.

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.