Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate 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.

In Traverse City you can determine when it's possible to plant verbena by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Verbena

Frost tolerance for verbena:	Tolerant of a very small amount of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 3 weeks before last frost.

Since verbena are one of those plants that can tolerate a tiny bit of cold weather you can plant them slightly earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant verbena in Traverse City is March. However, you really should wait until April if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant verbena and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your verbena may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your verbena indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Traverse City the average date of last frost happens on April 15. It might get as low as -10°F during the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Traverse City and it will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Traverse City it frosts late in the year after April 15 be ready to protect your verbena 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.