One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

You should be able to figure out when to plant gerbera by using the USDA zone info for Channahon.

Planting Calendar for Gerbera

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

Gerbera do well in very little cold which means that you can plant them slightly earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

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

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for Channahon may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Channahon you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to protect your gerbera if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Channahon

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 Channahon

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