One of the first steps you take when you are estimating 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.

In Chicago you can estimate when it's possible to plant fuchsia by checking out the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Fuchsia

Frost tolerance for fuchsia:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After all chance of frost has passed.

It's not a good idea to plant fuchsia until after all chance of frost has passed because they do not do well in cold weather.

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

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on April 15 in Chicago. You should expect an average low temperature of -10°F in the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost is just an average 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 there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to cover your fuchsia 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.