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.

A way of making a decision about when to plant hypericum is to use the USDA zone info for Champaign.

Planting Calendar for Hypericum

Frost tolerance for hypericum:	Tolerant of a very small amount of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 3 weeks before last frost.

Since hypericum do ok in moderate cold you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant hypericum in Champaign is March. However, you really should wait until April if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant hypericum and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your hypericum may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your hypericum indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on April 15 in Champaign. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Champaign is an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Champaign last frost occurs after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your hypericum if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Champaign

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 Champaign

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