The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Elmhurst you can figure out when you can plant lavender by reviewing the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Lavender

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

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

The earliest that you can plant lavender 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 lavender and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your lavender may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your lavender indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Elmhurst the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Elmhurst and it is different every year. Since half of the time in Elmhurst last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to cover your lavender if you have one of those late frosts.

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.