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.

In Portage you can determine when to plant polygonums by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Polygonums

Frost tolerance for polygonums:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost when the weather gets warmer.

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

The earliest that you can plant polygonums in Portage 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 polygonums and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your polygonums may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your polygonums indoors.

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for Portage may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Portage it frosts late in the year after April 15 be ready to protect your polygonums if you have a surprise 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.