One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out your gardening schedule is find your 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 way of figuring out when it's a good idea to plant nemesia is to consult the USDA zone info for Chicago.

Planting Calendar for Nemesia

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

Since nemesia do not do well in cold weather you have to wait until after the last frost before you can plant them.

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

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on April 15 in Chicago. You should 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 is different every year. Half of the time in Chicago it frosts late in the year after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your nemesia if you have a 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.