When to Plant Anchusa in Darien, IL

Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

You can estimate when it's possible to plant anchusa in Darien by looking at the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Anchusa

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

Anchusa are one of those plants that can tolerate quite a bit of cold weather which tells us that you can start planting them much earlier than other frost tender plants.

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

The earliest that you can plant anchusa in Darien 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 anchusa and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your anchusa may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your anchusa indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Darien. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Darien and it will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Darien last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to protect your anchusa if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Darien

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 Darien

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