When to Plant Caladium in Milwaukee, WI

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

The first chance to plant caladium in Milwaukee should be figured out by using the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Caladium

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

Since caladium are not cold tolerant it's necessary to wait until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant caladium
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant caladium
Probably not a good time to plant caladium

The earliest that you can plant caladium in Milwaukee 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 caladium and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your caladium may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your caladium indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Milwaukee. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Milwaukee is not always accurate the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Milwaukee last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to cover your caladium if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Milwaukee

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low-15°F
Highest Expected Low-10°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -10°F.

Plants to Grow in Milwaukee

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