One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out 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.

The USDA zone info for Champaign can be read to estimate when to plant basket of gold.

Planting Calendar for Basket of Gold

Frost tolerance for basket of gold:	Very tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 7 weeks before last frost.

Since basket of gold are very cold tolerant you can plant them much earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant basket of gold 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 basket of gold and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your basket of gold may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your basket of gold 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. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Champaign and it will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Champaign it frosts late in the year after April 15 be ready to protect your basket of gold in the event of one of those late frosts.

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.