One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out 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.

In Elmhurst you can estimate when it's possible to plant dracaena by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Dracaena

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

Since dracaena are one of those plants that can tolerate quite a bit of cold weather you can plant them a lot earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant dracaena in Elmhurst 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 dracaena and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your dracaena may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your dracaena indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Elmhurst. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Remember that USDA zone info for Elmhurst is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Elmhurst it frosts late in the year after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your dracaena if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Elmhurst

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 Elmhurst

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