One of the first steps you take when you are estimating your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. 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 Downers Grove you should be able to figure out when it's a good idea to plant achillea.

Planting Calendar for Achillea

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

Achillea do well in cold which means that you can plant them much earlier than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant achillea in Downers Grove 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 achillea and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your achillea may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your achillea indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Downers Grove. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Downers Grove is an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Downers Grove it frosts late in the year after April 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your achillea in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Downers Grove

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 Downers Grove

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Downers Grove.