Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine your garden schedule. 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 West Chicago should be reviewed to determine when it's possible to plant bleeding hearts.

Planting Calendar for Bleeding Hearts

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

You can plant bleeding hearts just a tiny bit earlier in the year because they are barely cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant bleeding hearts in West Chicago 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 bleeding hearts and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your bleeding hearts may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your bleeding hearts indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on April 15 in West Chicago. You can expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for West Chicago is an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in West Chicago there is a last frost after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your bleeding hearts in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for West Chicago

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 West Chicago

You may be interested in your other planting guides for West Chicago.