The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Portage you can figure out when it's the best time to plant flower-of-an-hour by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Flower-of-an-Hour

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

Since flower-of-an-hour are one of those plants that can tolerate a tiny bit of cold weather you can plant them slightly earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant flower-of-an-hour in Portage is March. However, you really should wait until April if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant flower-of-an-hour and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your flower-of-an-hour may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your flower-of-an-hour indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Portage 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.

Since the USDA zone info for Portage is not always accurate the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Portage last frost occurs after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your flower-of-an-hour in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Portage

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 Portage

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