When to Plant Dusty Miller in Cary, IL

The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

A way of making a decision about when to plant dusty miller is to look at the USDA zone info for Cary.


Planting Calendar for Dusty Miller

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

Dusty Miller are one of those plants that can tolerate quite a bit of cold weather which tells us that you can plant them much earlier than other frost tender plants.

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

The earliest that you can plant dusty miller in Cary 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 dusty miller and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your dusty miller may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your dusty miller indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Cary is just an average and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Cary there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to protect your dusty miller 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.