When to Plant Verbena in Decatur, IL

One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

It's possible to determine when it's possible to plant verbena by using the USDA zone info for Decatur.


Planting Calendar for Verbena

Frost tolerance for verbena: Tolerant of a very small amount of frost.
When to plant: Up to 3 weeks before last frost.

Verbena are one of those plants that can tolerate a tiny bit of cold weather which means that you can plant them slightly earlier than more sensitive plants.

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

The earliest that you can plant verbena in Decatur is March. However, you really should wait until April if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant verbena and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your verbena may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your verbena indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on April 15 in Decatur. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Decatur and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Decatur you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your verbena if you have 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.