One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

By referring to the USDA zone info for Champaign you should be able to determine when to plant bidens.

Planting Calendar for Bidens

Frost tolerance for bidens:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After all chance of frost has passed.

You can not plant bidens until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant bidens in Champaign 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 bidens and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your bidens may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your bidens indoors.

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for Champaign is just an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Champaign you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to protect your bidens if you have a surprise 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.