One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea 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 first opportunity to plant impatiens in Crystal Lake should be figured out by checking out the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Impatiens

Frost tolerance for impatiens:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost has passed.

It's a bad idea to plant impatiens until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant impatiens in Crystal Lake is April. However, you really should wait until May if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant impatiens and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your impatiens may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your impatiens indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Crystal Lake the average date of last frost happens on April 15. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for Crystal Lake and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Crystal Lake you get a frost after April 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your impatiens 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.