When to Plant Coral Bells in Crystal Lake, IL

One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out 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.

You will be able to estimate when you can plant coral bells by referring to the USDA zone info for Crystal Lake.


Planting Calendar for Coral Bells

Frost tolerance for coral bells: Tolerant of some frost.
When to plant: Up to 5 weeks before last frost.

You can plant coral bells a bit earlier in the year because they are moderately cold tolerant.

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

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

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Crystal Lake. You can expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Crystal Lake is not always accurate the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Crystal Lake last frost occurs after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your coral bells in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Crystal Lake

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 Crystal Lake

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Crystal Lake.