When to Plant Coral Bells in Howell, MI

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.

By referring to the USDA zone info for Howell it's a good idea to figure out when it's possible to plant coral bells.


Planting Calendar for Coral Bells

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

Since coral bells are one of those plants that can tolerate a little bit of cold weather you can plant them a little bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

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

The earliest that you can plant coral bells in Howell 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 coral bells and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your coral bells may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your coral bells 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 Howell. You can expect an average low temperature of -10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Howell may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Howell last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to cover your coral bells if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Howell

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low-10°F
Highest Expected Low-5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -5°F.

Plants to Grow in Howell

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