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.

The first opportunity to plant tithonia in East Lansing should be determined by reviewing the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Tithonia

Frost tolerance for tithonia:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After all chance of frost has passed.

You should not plant tithonia until after the last frost has passed because they require warm weather.

The earliest that you can plant tithonia 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 tithonia and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your tithonia may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your tithonia indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on April 15 in East Lansing. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for East Lansing is just an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in East Lansing there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to cover your tithonia 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.