Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Rapid City you can estimate when you can plant primula by checking out the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Primula

Frost tolerance for primula:	Very tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 7 weeks before last frost.

Primula do ok in a bit of cold which means that you can plant them much earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant primula in Rapid City is February. However, you really should wait until March if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant primula and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your primula may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your primula indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Rapid City the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -20°F.

Always keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Rapid City and it changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Rapid City there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to protect your primula 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.