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.

The first opportunity to plant gladiolus in Grand Rapids should be determined by reviewing the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Gladiolus

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

Gladiolus can survive in very little cold which tells us that you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant gladiolus in Grand Rapids 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 gladiolus and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your gladiolus may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your gladiolus indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on May 15 in Grand Rapids. It might get as low as -35°F during the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Grand Rapids is just an average and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Grand Rapids it frosts late in the year after May 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your gladiolus if you have a surprise 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.