One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about your gardening schedule is find your 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 chance to plant liatris in Ionia should be determined by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Liatris

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

Since liatris do well in cold you can plant them a lot earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant liatris in Ionia 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 liatris and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your liatris may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your liatris indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on April 15 in Ionia. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Ionia is not always accurate the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Ionia you get a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your liatris in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Ionia

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 Ionia

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