One of the first steps you take when you are determining 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 USDA zone info for Ishpeming can be used to estimate when it's possible to plant liatris.

Planting Calendar for Liatris

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

Liatris do ok in cold weather which tells us that 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 Ishpeming is March. However, you really should wait until April if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant liatris and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your liatris may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your liatris indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Ishpeming the average date of last frost happens on May 15. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -25°F.

Remember that USDA zone info for Ishpeming is just an average and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Ishpeming you get a frost after May 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your liatris in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Ishpeming

Here is the info for USDA Zone 4b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	September 15
Lowest Expected Low	-25°F
Highest Expected Low	-20°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -25°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -20°F.

Plants to Grow in Ishpeming

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