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When to Plant Lithospermum in Des Plaines, IL

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.

A common way of estimating when it's the best time to plant lithospermum is to use the USDA zone info for Des Plaines.


Planting Calendar for Lithospermum

Frost tolerance for lithospermum: Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant: After the last frost.

Lithospermum require warm weather which tells us that you need to wait until it warms up after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

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

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

Last Frost Date

In Des Plaines 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.

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for Des Plaines and it changes from year to year. Half of the time in Des Plaines there is a last frost after April 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your lithospermum 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.