When to Plant Hosta in Hillsdale, MI

Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate your garden schedule. 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 Hillsdale should be used to determine when you can plant hosta.


Planting Calendar for Hosta

Frost tolerance for hosta: Tolerant of some frost.
When to plant: Up to 5 weeks before last frost.

You can plant hosta a little earlier in the year because they do well in moderate cold.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant hosta
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant hosta
Probably not a good time to plant hosta

The earliest that you can plant hosta in Hillsdale is February. However, you really should wait until March if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant hosta and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your hosta may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your hosta indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Hillsdale the average date of last frost happens on April 15. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Hillsdale is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Hillsdale there is a last frost after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your hosta if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Hillsdale

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 Hillsdale

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Hillsdale.