When to Plant Canna in Cary, IL

One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out 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.

By using the USDA zone info for Cary you should be able to estimate when to plant canna.


Planting Calendar for Canna

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

Since canna are not cold tolerant you have to wait until after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

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

The earliest that you can plant canna in Cary 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 canna and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your canna may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your canna indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Cary. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Remember that USDA zone info for Cary is an average and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Cary you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your canna if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Cary

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 Cary

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