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.

The USDA zone info for Downers Grove should be used to figure out when it's possible to plant hamelia.

Planting Calendar for Hamelia

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

Hamelia are not cold tolerant which tells us that you need to wait until it warms up after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant hamelia in Downers Grove 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 hamelia and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your hamelia may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your hamelia indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on April 15 in Downers Grove. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Downers Grove and it changes from year to year. Half of the time in Downers Grove last frost occurs after April 15 so always be ready to protect your hamelia if you have 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.