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

In Elmhurst you can estimate when it's possible to plant lisianthus by using the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Lisianthus

Frost tolerance for lisianthus:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost has passed.

Since lisianthus are not cold tolerant it's important to wait until after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant lisianthus in Elmhurst 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 lisianthus and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your lisianthus may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your lisianthus indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Remember that USDA zone info for Elmhurst is just an average and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Elmhurst you get a frost after April 15 be ready to protect your lisianthus if you have a 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.