When to Plant Flax in Decatur, IL

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.

You will be able to figure out when you can plant flax by reviewing the USDA zone info for Decatur.


Planting Calendar for Flax

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

You can plant flax a little earlier in the year because they are moderately cold tolerant.

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

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

Last Frost Date

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

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Decatur and it is different every year. Half of the time in Decatur you get a frost after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your flax in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Decatur

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 Decatur

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