One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out 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.

In Chicago Ridge you can estimate when it's possible to plant dusty miller by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Dusty Miller

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

Dusty Miller do ok in quite a bit of cold which means that you can plant them earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant dusty miller in Chicago Ridge 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 dusty miller and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your dusty miller may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your dusty miller indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Chicago Ridge the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You should expect an average low temperature of -10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Chicago Ridge is not always accurate the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Chicago Ridge last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to protect your dusty miller in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Chicago Ridge

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-10°F
Highest Expected Low	-5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -5°F.

Plants to Grow in Chicago Ridge

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