When to Plant Four O' Clock in Decatur, IL

Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By referring to the USDA zone info for Decatur you should be able to estimate when it's possible to plant four o' clock.


Planting Calendar for Four O' Clock

Frost tolerance for four o' clock: Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant: After the last frost.

Since four o' clock require warm weather you have to wait until after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant four o' clock
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant four o' clock
Probably not a good time to plant four o' clock

The earliest that you can plant four o' clock in Decatur 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 four o' clock and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your four o' clock may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your four o' clock indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Decatur the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Decatur is an average and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Decatur you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to protect your four o' clock in the event of one of those late frosts.

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.