One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Grand Rapids you can estimate when you can plant achimenes by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Achimenes

Frost tolerance for achimenes:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost.

Achimenes require warm weather which means that you need to wait until it warms up after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant achimenes in Grand Rapids is May. However, you really should wait until June if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant achimenes and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your achimenes may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your achimenes indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Grand Rapids the average date of last frost happens on May 15. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -35°F.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Grand Rapids is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Grand Rapids last frost occurs after May 15 so always be ready to protect your achimenes if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Grand Rapids

Here is the info for USDA Zone 3b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	September 15
Lowest Expected Low	-35°F
Highest Expected Low	-30°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -35°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -30°F.

Plants to Grow in Grand Rapids

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Grand Rapids.