When to Plant Begonias in Berkeley, IL

Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out 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.

You can estimate when it's the best time to plant begonias in Berkeley by checking out the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Begonias

Frost tolerance for begonias: Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant: After the last frost has passed.

Begonias are not cold tolerant which tells us that it's important to wait until it warms up after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

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

The earliest that you can plant begonias in Berkeley 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 begonias and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your begonias may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your begonias indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Berkeley the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You should expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Berkeley may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Berkeley there is a last frost after April 15 so always be ready to protect your begonias in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Berkeley

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 Berkeley

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