One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

It's possible to determine when to plant lavender cotton by using the USDA zone info for East Peoria.

Planting Calendar for Lavender Cotton

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

Since lavender cotton are one of those plants that can tolerate quite a bit of cold weather you can plant them earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant lavender cotton in East Peoria 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 lavender cotton and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your lavender cotton may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your lavender cotton indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on April 15 in East Peoria. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Remember that USDA zone info for East Peoria may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in East Peoria it frosts late in the year after April 15 so always be ready to protect your lavender cotton in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for East Peoria

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 East Peoria

You may be interested in your other planting guides for East Peoria.