One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate 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.

You will be able to figure out when it's the best time to plant lantana by referring to the USDA zone info for Des Plaines.

Planting Calendar for Lantana

Frost tolerance for lantana:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost has passed.

You should not plant lantana until after the last frost has passed because they require warm weather.

The earliest that you can plant lantana in Des Plaines 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 lantana and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your lantana may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your lantana indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Des Plaines. You should expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Des Plaines is just an average and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Des Plaines you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your lantana in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Des Plaines

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 Des Plaines

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Des Plaines.