The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

A way of figuring out when you can plant scabiosa is to examine the USDA zone info for Des Plaines.

Planting Calendar for Scabiosa

Frost tolerance for scabiosa:	Tolerant of some frost.
When to plant:	Up to 5 weeks before last frost.

Scabiosa do well in moderate cold which tells us that you can plant them earlier than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant scabiosa in Des Plaines 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 scabiosa and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your scabiosa may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your scabiosa indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on April 15 in Des Plaines. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Des Plaines is not always accurate the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Des Plaines you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your scabiosa if you have a surprise late frost.

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.