When to Plant Bells of Ireland in Chester, IL

One of the first steps you take when you are determining your gardening schedule is find your 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.

The USDA zone info for Chester can be looked at to figure out when you can plant bells of ireland.


Planting Calendar for Bells of Ireland

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

Bells of Ireland can survive in some cold which means that you can plant them just a tiny bit earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant bells of ireland
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant bells of ireland
Probably not a good time to plant bells of ireland

The earliest that you can plant bells of ireland in Chester 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 bells of ireland and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your bells of ireland may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your bells of ireland indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Chester. You should expect an average low temperature of -5°F in the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Chester and it will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Chester last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to cover your bells of ireland if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Chester

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low-5°F
Highest Expected Low0°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -5°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 0°F.

Plants to Grow in Chester

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