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.

In Lansing you can estimate when to plant coleus by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Coleus

Frost tolerance for coleus:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After all chance of frost has passed.

It's a bad idea to plant coleus until after the last frost because they require warm weather.

The earliest that you can plant coleus in Lansing is April. However, you really should wait until May if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant coleus and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your coleus may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your coleus indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Lansing and it will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Lansing last frost occurs after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your coleus if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Lansing

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 Lansing

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