When to Plant Lobelia in Elmhurst, IL

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.

The USDA zone info for Elmhurst can be reviewed to determine when to plant lobelia.


Planting Calendar for Lobelia

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

You can plant lobelia much earlier in the year because they are very cold tolerant.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant lobelia
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant lobelia
Probably not a good time to plant lobelia

The earliest that you can plant lobelia 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 lobelia and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your lobelia may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your lobelia indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Elmhurst. You can expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Elmhurst is an average and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Elmhurst there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to cover your lobelia 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.