The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

It's possible to estimate when it's the best time to plant pentas by using the USDA zone info for Traverse City.

Planting Calendar for Pentas

Frost tolerance for pentas:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After all chance of frost has passed.

Since pentas require warm weather you have to wait until after the last frost before you can plant them.

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

Last Frost Date

In Traverse City the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -10°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Traverse City is not always accurate the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Traverse City you get a frost after April 15 be ready to protect your pentas if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Traverse City

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 Traverse City

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Traverse City.