One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the 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.

A common way of making a decision about when to plant doronicum is to consult the USDA zone info for Chicago.

Planting Calendar for Doronicum

Frost tolerance for doronicum:	Tolerant of some frost.
When to plant:	Up to 5 weeks before last frost.

Since doronicum are one of those plants that can tolerate a little bit of cold weather you can plant them just a bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant doronicum in Chicago 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 doronicum and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your doronicum may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your doronicum indoors.

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for Chicago is just an average the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Chicago last frost occurs after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your doronicum if you have 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.