The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

One way of figuring out when to plant mecardonia is to refer to the USDA zone info for Lake Villa.

Planting Calendar for Mecardonia

Frost tolerance for mecardonia:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost when the weather gets warmer.

It's probably not a good idea to plant mecardonia until after the last frost because they require warm weather.

The earliest that you can plant mecardonia in Lake Villa 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 mecardonia and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your mecardonia may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your mecardonia indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Lake Villa. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for Lake Villa and it changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Lake Villa there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to cover your mecardonia if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Lake Villa

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 Lake Villa

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Lake Villa.