One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out 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 first chance to plant dusty miller in Portage can be determined by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Dusty Miller

Frost tolerance for dusty miller:	Very tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 7 weeks before last frost.

You can plant dusty miller much earlier in the year because they do well in cold.

The earliest that you can plant dusty miller 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 dusty miller and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your dusty miller may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your dusty miller indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Portage. You can expect an average low temperature of -10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Portage and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Portage it frosts late in the year after April 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your dusty miller if you have 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.