One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the 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 first chance to plant caladium in Des Plaines should be figured out by reviewing the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Caladium

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

It's probably a bad idea to plant caladium 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 caladium in Des Plaines 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 caladium and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your caladium may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your caladium indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Des Plaines. You should expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Des Plaines is not always accurate the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Des Plaines it frosts late in the year after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your caladium if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Des Plaines

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 Des Plaines

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Des Plaines.