When to Plant Stevia in Benton, IL

One of the first steps you take when you are determining 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 first chance to plant stevia in Benton can be figured out by looking at the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Stevia

Frost tolerance for stevia: Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant: After all chance of frost has passed.

Since stevia are not cold tolerant it is necessary to wait until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

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

The earliest that you can plant stevia in Benton 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 stevia and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your stevia may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your stevia indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on April 15 in Benton. You should expect an average low temperature of -5°F in the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Benton is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Benton it frosts late in the year after April 15 be ready to cover your stevia if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Benton

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low-5°F
Highest Expected Low0°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -5°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 0°F.

Plants to Grow in Benton

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