One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out your gardening schedule is find your 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 will be able to figure out when you can plant flowering tobacco by checking out the USDA zone info for Rapid City.

Planting Calendar for Flowering Tobacco

Frost tolerance for flowering tobacco:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost has passed.

It's a bad idea to plant flowering tobacco until after all chance of frost has passed because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant flowering tobacco in Rapid 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 flowering tobacco and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your flowering tobacco may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your flowering tobacco indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Rapid City the average date of last frost happens on April 15. It might get as low as -20°F during the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Rapid City and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Rapid City there is a last frost after April 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your flowering tobacco in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Rapid City

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-20°F
Highest Expected Low	-15°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -15°F.

Plants to Grow in Rapid City

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