One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about 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.

By checking out the USDA zone info for Merrill it's possible to determine when you can plant strawflowers.

Planting Calendar for Strawflowers

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

Since strawflowers are one of those plants that can tolerate a tiny bit of cold weather you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

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

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on May 15 in Merrill. It might get as low as -30°F during the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Merrill and it is different every year. Since half of the time in Merrill you get surprised by a frost after May 15 be ready to protect your strawflowers if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Merrill

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 Merrill

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Merrill.