One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out 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.

A common way of estimating when it's possible to plant pumpkins is to check out the USDA zone info for Pontiac.

Planting Calendar for Pumpkins

Frost tolerance for pumpkins:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost has passed.

It's not a good idea to plant pumpkins until after all chance of frost has passed because they require warm weather.

The earliest that you can plant pumpkins in Pontiac 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 pumpkins and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your pumpkins may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your pumpkins indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on April 15 in Pontiac. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -10°F.

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for Pontiac and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Pontiac it frosts late in the year after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your pumpkins if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Pontiac

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-10°F
Highest Expected Low	-5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -5°F.

Plants to Grow in Pontiac

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