One of the first steps you take when you are estimating your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Champaign you can determine when you can plant arctotis by using the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Arctotis

Frost tolerance for arctotis:	Tolerant of some frost.
When to plant:	Up to 5 weeks before last frost.

Arctotis do well in moderate cold which tells us that you can start planting them earlier than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant arctotis in Champaign 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 arctotis and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your arctotis may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your arctotis indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Champaign the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You should expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Champaign is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Champaign you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your arctotis in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Champaign

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 Champaign

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