One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The first opportunity to plant primula in Traverse City can be determined by reviewing the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Primula

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

Primula are one of those plants that can tolerate quite a bit of cold weather which tells us that you can get them planted much earlier than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant primula in Traverse City 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 primula and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your primula may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your primula indoors.

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for Traverse City is not always accurate the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Traverse City there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to cover your primula in the event of one of those late frosts.

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.