Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. 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 estimating when it's the best time to plant artemesia is to look at the USDA zone info for Chicago.

Planting Calendar for Artemesia

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

Artemesia tend to make it in some cold which means that you can plant them slightly earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant artemesia in Chicago 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 artemesia and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your artemesia may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your artemesia indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Chicago. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -10°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Chicago may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Chicago you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your artemesia in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Chicago

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

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