One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out 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 checking out the USDA zone info for East Peoria you will be able to determine when it's a good idea to plant oenothera.

Planting Calendar for Oenothera

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

Since oenothera are moderately cold tolerant you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant oenothera 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 oenothera and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your oenothera may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your oenothera indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for East Peoria is just an average and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in East Peoria there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to protect your oenothera if you have 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.