One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea your gardening schedule is find your 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.

The USDA zone info for Arlington Heights can be reffered to in order to determine when it's possible to plant cardinal flower.

Planting Calendar for Cardinal Flower

Frost tolerance for cardinal flower:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost.

Cardinal Flower are not cold tolerant which means that you have to wait until it warms up after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant cardinal flower in Arlington Heights 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 cardinal flower and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your cardinal flower may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your cardinal flower indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Arlington Heights. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Arlington Heights is not always accurate the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Arlington Heights you get a frost after April 15 be ready to protect your cardinal flower if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Arlington Heights

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 Arlington Heights

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Arlington Heights.