The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

A common way of figuring out when it's the best time to plant petunias is to examine the USDA zone info for Valley City.

Planting Calendar for Petunias

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

Petunias tend to make it in some cold which means that you can plant them slightly earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant petunias in Valley City 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 petunias and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your petunias may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your petunias indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Valley City the average date of last frost happens on May 15. It might get as low as -30°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Valley City may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Valley City you get a frost after May 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your petunias in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Valley City

Here is the info for USDA Zone 4a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	September 15
Lowest Expected Low	-30°F
Highest Expected Low	-25°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -30°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -25°F.

Plants to Grow in Valley City

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Valley City.