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

The first opportunity to plant chrysocephalum in Chicago can be figured out by using the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Chrysocephalum

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

Since chrysocephalum are not cold tolerant it is necessary to wait until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant chrysocephalum 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 chrysocephalum and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your chrysocephalum may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your chrysocephalum indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Chicago the average date of last frost happens on April 15. It might get as low as -10°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Chicago is just an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Chicago last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to protect your chrysocephalum if you have 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.