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

You should be able to figure out when to plant bellis by checking out the USDA zone info for Portage.

Planting Calendar for Bellis

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

Since bellis do well in moderate cold you can plant them a little earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant bellis in Portage 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 bellis and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your bellis may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your bellis indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for Portage is just an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Portage you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your bellis in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Portage

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 Portage

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