One of the first steps you take when you are estimating 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.

A common way of making a decision about when to plant datura is to use the USDA zone info for Chicago Heights.

Planting Calendar for Datura

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

You can plant datura just a tiny bit earlier in the year because they are one of those plants that can tolerate a tiny bit of cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant datura in Chicago Heights 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 datura and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your datura may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your datura indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Chicago Heights. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Chicago Heights is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Chicago Heights last frost occurs after April 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your datura in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Chicago Heights

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 Chicago Heights

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Chicago Heights.