When to Plant Calla Lily in Chicago, IL

Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

You can estimate when it's the best time to plant calla lily in Chicago by using the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Calla Lily

Frost tolerance for calla lily: Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant: After the last frost has passed.

It's probably a bad idea to plant calla lily until after the last frost because they do not do well in cold weather.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant calla lily
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant calla lily
Probably not a good time to plant calla lily

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

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on April 15 in Chicago. It might get as low as -10°F during the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Chicago is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Chicago there is a last frost after April 15 so always be ready to protect your calla lily in the event of a surprise late frost.

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.