One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

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

Planting Calendar for Doronicum

Frost tolerance for doronicum:	Tolerant of some frost.
When to plant:	Up to 5 weeks before last frost.

Since doronicum are moderately cold tolerant you can plant them just a bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant doronicum in Bloomington 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 doronicum and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your doronicum may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your doronicum indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Bloomington the average date of last frost happens on April 15. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Bloomington may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Bloomington you get a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your doronicum if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Bloomington

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 Bloomington

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