When to Plant Geranium in Carbondale, IL

One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the 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 earliest that you can plant geranium in Carbondale can be determined by using the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Geranium

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

It's not a good idea to plant geranium until after the last frost because they are not cold tolerant.

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

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

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Carbondale. You can expect an average low temperature of -5°F in the coldest months of winter.

Remember that USDA zone info for Carbondale is just an average and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Carbondale there is a last frost after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your geranium in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Carbondale

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 Carbondale

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