The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us estimate your gardening 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 Deerfield you should be able to determine when you can plant anchusa.

Planting Calendar for Anchusa

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

Since anchusa are one of those plants that can tolerate quite a bit of cold weather you can plant them quite a bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant anchusa in Deerfield 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your anchusa may not have a chance to really do well. 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 Deerfield. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Deerfield is an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Deerfield you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your anchusa in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Deerfield

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 Deerfield

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