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When to Plant Tall Phlox in Des Plaines, IL

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.

In Des Plaines you can determine when it's the best time to plant tall phlox by reviewing the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Tall Phlox

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

Tall Phlox tend to make it in a little bit of cold which means that you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

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

The earliest that you can plant tall phlox 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 tall phlox and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your tall phlox may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your tall phlox indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on April 15 in Des Plaines. 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 not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Des Plaines and it will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Des Plaines you get a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your tall phlox 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.