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 estimating when it's the best time to plant anchusa is to examine the USDA zone info for Cicero.

Planting Calendar for Anchusa

Frost tolerance for anchusa:	Very tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 7 weeks before last frost.

Anchusa do ok in a bit of cold which tells us that you can plant them much earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant anchusa in Cicero 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 anchusa and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your anchusa may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your anchusa indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Cicero the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You can expect an average low temperature of -10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Cicero is just an average and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Cicero there is a last frost after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your anchusa in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Cicero

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 Cicero

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Cicero.