One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out 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.

The first chance to plant diascia in Elmwood Park should be determined by using the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Diascia

Frost tolerance for diascia:	Tolerant of some frost.
When to plant:	Up to 5 weeks before last frost.

Diascia tend to make it in moderate cold which tells us that you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant diascia in Elmwood Park 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 diascia and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your diascia may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your diascia indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on April 15 in Elmwood Park. You should expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Elmwood Park is an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Elmwood Park there is a last frost after April 15 so always be ready to cover your diascia if you have 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.