One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

You can determine when it's possible to plant oleander in Grand Rapids by using the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Oleander

Frost tolerance for oleander:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost when the weather gets warmer.

Oleander are not cold tolerant which means that you have to wait until it warms up after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant oleander 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 oleander and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your oleander may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your oleander indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Grand Rapids the average date of last frost happens on May 15. It might get as low as -35°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Grand Rapids is just an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Grand Rapids last frost occurs after May 15 be ready to cover your oleander if you have one of those late frosts.

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.