One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for Chicago should be reviewed to estimate when it's the best time to plant browallia.

Planting Calendar for Browallia

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

You really shouldn't plant browallia until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer because they require warm weather.

The earliest that you can plant browallia in Chicago 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 browallia and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your browallia may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your browallia indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Chicago. It might get as low as -10°F during the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Chicago and it will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Chicago you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to protect your browallia 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.