When to Plant Pentas in Carbondale, IL

The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us estimate 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 earliest that you can plant pentas in Carbondale should be figured out by reviewing the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Pentas

Frost tolerance for pentas: Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant: After the last frost when the weather gets warmer.

It's a bad idea to plant pentas until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer because they do not do well in cold weather.

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

The earliest that you can plant pentas 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 pentas and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your pentas may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your pentas indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Carbondale the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You should expect an average low temperature of -5°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Carbondale is just an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Carbondale you get a frost after April 15 be ready to protect your pentas 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.