Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. 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 it's possible to plant gomphrena by reviewing the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Gomphrena

Frost tolerance for gomphrena:	Tolerant of a very small amount of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 3 weeks before last frost.

Gomphrena do ok in moderate cold which means that you can get them planted just a bit earlier than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant gomphrena in East Lansing is March. However, you really should wait until April if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant gomphrena and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your gomphrena may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your gomphrena indoors.

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for East Lansing may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in East Lansing it frosts late in the year after April 15 so always be ready to cover your gomphrena if you have 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.