One of the first steps you take when you are estimating 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 Lansing should be read to determine when you can plant cosmos.

Planting Calendar for Cosmos

Frost tolerance for cosmos:	Tolerant of a very small amount of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 3 weeks before last frost.

Since cosmos do ok in moderate cold you can plant them slightly earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant cosmos in Lansing 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 cosmos and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your cosmos may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your cosmos indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Lansing the average date of last frost happens on April 15. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Lansing may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Lansing you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your cosmos if you have a surprise 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.