One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out 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.

By looking at the USDA zone info for Lake Forest you should be able to determine when it's possible to plant astilbe.

Planting Calendar for Astilbe

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

Astilbe are barely cold tolerant which means that you can plant them slightly earlier than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant astilbe in Lake Forest 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 astilbe and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your astilbe may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your astilbe indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Lake Forest the average date of last frost happens on January 31. It might get as low as 30°F during the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Lake Forest is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Lake Forest you get a frost after January 31 so always be ready to protect your astilbe if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Lake Forest

Here is the info for USDA Zone 10a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	January 31
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	30°F
Highest Expected Low	35°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 30°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 35°F.

Plants to Grow in Lake Forest

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