The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Algonquin you can determine when it's a good idea to plant gaillardia by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Gaillardia

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

Gaillardia do ok in moderate cold which means that you can plant them slightly earlier than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant gaillardia in Algonquin 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 gaillardia and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your gaillardia may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your gaillardia 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 Algonquin. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Algonquin may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Algonquin last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to cover your gaillardia if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Algonquin

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 Algonquin

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