When to Plant Primroses in Crete, IL

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.

By referring to the USDA zone info for Crete you will be able to estimate when to plant primroses.


Planting Calendar for Primroses

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

Since primroses do well in cold you can plant them a lot earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

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

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

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on April 15 in Crete. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Remember that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Crete and it is different every year. Since half of the time in Crete you get a frost after April 15 be ready to protect your primroses if you have one of those late frosts.

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.