When to Plant Rhubarb in Lapeer, MI

One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the 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 opportunity to plant rhubarb in Lapeer should be estimated by looking at the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Rhubarb

Frost tolerance for rhubarb: Tolerant of some frost.
When to plant: Up to 5 weeks before last frost.

Rhubarb are moderately cold tolerant which means that you can plant them earlier than other plants that might not handle the cold.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant rhubarb
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant rhubarb
Probably not a good time to plant rhubarb

The earliest that you can plant rhubarb in Lapeer 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 rhubarb and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your rhubarb may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your rhubarb indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Lapeer. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Lapeer may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Lapeer last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to protect your rhubarb if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Lapeer

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 Lapeer

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