One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about 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.

In Chicago Heights you can determine when it's the best time to plant mimulus by reviewing the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Mimulus

Frost tolerance for mimulus:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost.

You should not plant mimulus until after all chance of frost has passed because they require warm weather.

The earliest that you can plant mimulus in Chicago Heights is April. However, you really should wait until May if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant mimulus and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your mimulus may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your mimulus indoors.

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.

Remember that USDA zone info for Chicago Heights may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Chicago Heights it frosts late in the year after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your mimulus in the event of a surprise late frost.

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.