When to Plant Scarlet Pimpernels in Elmhurst, IL

One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By reviewing the USDA zone info for Elmhurst you will be able to determine when it's the best time to plant scarlet pimpernels.


Planting Calendar for Scarlet Pimpernels

Frost tolerance for scarlet pimpernels: Tolerant of a very small amount of frost.
When to plant: Up to 3 weeks before last frost.

Scarlet Pimpernels do ok in moderate cold which tells us that you can start planting them slightly earlier than other frost tender plants.

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

The earliest that you can plant scarlet pimpernels in Elmhurst is March. However, you really should wait until April if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant scarlet pimpernels and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your scarlet pimpernels may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your scarlet pimpernels indoors.

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.

Remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Elmhurst and it changes from year to year. Half of the time in Elmhurst there is a last frost after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your scarlet pimpernels 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.