Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

One way of getting a good idea when it's the best time to plant pentas is to look at the USDA zone info for Elmhurst.

Planting Calendar for Pentas

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

Pentas are not cold tolerant which means that it's 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 pentas 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 pentas and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your pentas may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your pentas indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for Elmhurst may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Elmhurst last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to protect your pentas 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.