Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for Traverse City can be reffered to in order to estimate when to plant rhubarb.

Planting Calendar for Rhubarb

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

Rhubarb are one of those plants that can tolerate a little bit of cold weather which tells us that you can get them planted earlier than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant rhubarb 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 rhubarb and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your rhubarb may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your rhubarb indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on April 15 in Traverse City. It might get as low as -10°F during the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Traverse City is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Traverse City you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your rhubarb 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.