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.

In Crest Hill you can determine when it's the best time to plant lobelia by using the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Lobelia

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

You can plant lobelia quite a bit earlier in the year because they are very cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant lobelia in Crest Hill 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 lobelia and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your lobelia may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your lobelia indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Crest Hill. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Remember that USDA zone info for Crest Hill is just an average and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Crest Hill you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to protect your lobelia in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Crest Hill

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-15°F
Highest Expected Low	-10°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -10°F.

Plants to Grow in Crest Hill

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Crest Hill.