One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By checking out the USDA zone info for Champaign it's possible to estimate when it's a good idea to plant lavender cotton.

Planting Calendar for Lavender Cotton

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

Lavender Cotton do ok in pretty solid cold which tells us that you can plant them much earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant lavender cotton in Champaign 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 lavender cotton and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your lavender cotton may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your lavender cotton indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Remember that USDA zone info for Champaign is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Champaign there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to cover your lavender cotton in the event of 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.