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.

In Ionia you can determine when it's the best time to plant primula by reviewing the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Primula

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

Since primula are very cold tolerant you can plant them quite a bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant primula 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 primula and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your primula may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your primula indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Ionia the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You can expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Ionia is an average and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Ionia last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to cover your primula in the event of a surprise late frost.

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.