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

The USDA zone info for Champaign should be reviewed to figure out when it's the best time to plant digitalis.

Planting Calendar for Digitalis

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

Digitalis do well in moderate cold which tells us that you can plant them a little bit earlier than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant digitalis 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 digitalis and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your digitalis may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your digitalis indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on April 15 in Champaign. You should expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Champaign is an average and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Champaign there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to cover your digitalis in the event of 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.