When to Plant Canna in Elmwood Park, IL

The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for Elmwood Park should be read to estimate when you can plant canna.


Planting Calendar for Canna

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

It's probably not a good idea to plant canna until after the last frost because they do not do well in cold weather.

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

The earliest that you can plant canna in Elmwood Park 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 canna and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your canna may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your canna indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on April 15 in Elmwood Park. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Elmwood Park may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Elmwood Park you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your canna in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Elmwood Park

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 Elmwood Park

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Elmwood Park.