When to Plant Cosmos in Sullivan, IL

Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Sullivan you can estimate when it's possible to plant cosmos by reviewing the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Cosmos

Frost tolerance for cosmos: Tolerant of a very small amount of frost.
When to plant: Up to 3 weeks before last frost.

Cosmos are one of those plants that can tolerate a tiny bit of cold weather which means that you can get them planted just a bit earlier than other plants that might not handle the cold.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant cosmos
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant cosmos
Probably not a good time to plant cosmos

The earliest that you can plant cosmos in Sullivan is March. However, you really should wait until April if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant cosmos and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your cosmos may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your cosmos indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Sullivan. You should expect an average low temperature of -10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Sullivan is just an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Sullivan it frosts late in the year after April 15 be ready to protect your cosmos in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Sullivan

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low-10°F
Highest Expected Low-5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -5°F.

Plants to Grow in Sullivan

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Sullivan.