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When to Plant Lavender Cotton in Bloomington, IL

The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule. 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 Bloomington should be read to determine when you can plant lavender cotton.


Planting Calendar for Lavender Cotton

Frost tolerance for lavender cotton: Very tolerant of frost.
When to plant: Up to 7 weeks before last frost.

Since lavender cotton are one of those plants that can tolerate quite a bit of cold weather you can plant them quite a bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

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

The earliest that you can plant lavender cotton 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 lavender cotton and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your lavender cotton may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your lavender cotton 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.

Remember that USDA zone info for Bloomington is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Bloomington you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your lavender cotton in the event of one of those late frosts.

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.