One of the first steps you take when you are determining 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.

A common way of getting a good idea when it's the best time to plant dipladenia is to refer to the USDA zone info for Elgin.

Planting Calendar for Dipladenia

Frost tolerance for dipladenia:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After all chance of frost has passed.

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

The earliest that you can plant dipladenia in Elgin 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 dipladenia and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your dipladenia may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your dipladenia indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on April 15 in Elgin. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Elgin is an average and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Elgin there is a last frost after April 15 so always be ready to cover your dipladenia in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Elgin

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 Elgin

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Elgin.