When to Plant Dracaena in Crete, IL

One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about 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.

The best time to plant dracaena in Crete can be estimated by referring to the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Dracaena

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

Dracaena tend to make it in a bit of cold which means that you can plant them a lot earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant dracaena
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant dracaena
Probably not a good time to plant dracaena

The earliest that you can plant dracaena in Crete 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 dracaena and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your dracaena may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your dracaena indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Crete the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Crete may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Crete you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your dracaena in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Crete

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 Crete

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