One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for Crystal Lake can be read to figure out when you can plant helianthemum.

Planting Calendar for Helianthemum

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

Helianthemum do well in moderate cold which means that you can start planting them earlier than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant helianthemum 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 helianthemum and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your helianthemum may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your helianthemum 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 should expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Crystal Lake is just an average and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Crystal Lake last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to cover your helianthemum if you have one of those late frosts.

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.