One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about 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 earliest that you can plant hardy asters in Downers Grove should be determined by reviewing the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Hardy Asters

Frost tolerance for hardy asters:	Tolerant of a very small amount of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 3 weeks before last frost.

You can plant hardy asters a bit earlier in the year because they do ok in moderate cold.

The earliest that you can plant hardy asters in Downers Grove is March. However, you really should wait until April if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant hardy asters and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your hardy asters may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your hardy asters indoors.

Last Frost Date

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

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Downers Grove may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Downers Grove it frosts late in the year after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your hardy asters 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.