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.

A common way of getting a good idea when it's the best time to plant hamelia is to look at the USDA zone info for Rapid City.

Planting Calendar for Hamelia

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

It's a bad idea to plant hamelia until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant hamelia 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 hamelia and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your hamelia may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your hamelia indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on April 15 in Rapid City. It might get as low as -20°F during the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for Rapid City and it changes from year to year. Half of the time in Rapid City you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so always be ready to cover your hamelia 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.