One of the first steps you take when you are estimating your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The first opportunity to plant aubretia in Houghton should be figured out by using the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Aubretia

Frost tolerance for aubretia:	Very tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 7 weeks before last frost.

Aubretia do ok in quite a bit of cold which tells us that you can plant them much earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant aubretia in Houghton 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 aubretia and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your aubretia may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your aubretia indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for Houghton may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Houghton it frosts late in the year after April 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your aubretia in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Houghton

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 Houghton

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