The Planting Guide for Indiana

It’s Spring Time! If your hearty perennials survived the last winter, you’ll need to start nurturing them immediately with plenty of water, weeding and food (fertilizer). If not all of them made it, or you only planted annuals last year, you’ll need to start thinking about what you will want to plant this season.

It’s common for people to plant shrubs or flowers based off of their appearance, and that’s fine if you’re okay with rolling the dice on your chances of the plant surviving the frost. In order to make sure your plants will thrive you have to get to know your growing zone.

Planting by Zone

There are 13 growing zones according to the USDA. East Central Indiana is in Zone 5, which means plants have to be able to survive and extreme low temperature of -20 F.

There are a ton of beautiful flowers, vegetables and fruits that are able to do well is Zone 5. We can grow a variety of plants from asters to zinnias and from asparagus to watermelon. We recommend using a resource like the Old Farmer’s Almanac for suggestions. There’s a lot of quality information that you can find on the website and even more information in the book.

Planting by Locality

Some of your fellow Hoosiers favor plants that are native to Indiana and your specific area. They say that native plants are better for the environment because they promote healthy wildlife populations and can help prevent invasive, exotic species from becoming widespread. You can find a list or buy native trees and shrubs like the American Highbush Cranberry, Silky Dogwood and Spicebush and more from the Indiana Wildlife Federation.

Why wouldn’t you want to buy plants that are hearty, attractive and promote a healthy environment all at the same time. Contact us today with questions about plant selection. We’re always here to help!

Why not plant species that are attractive, hearty and promote a healthy environment all at once? Feel free to contact us with questions about plant selection. We’re here to help!