When to Plant Strawflowers in Elmwood Park, IL

Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

The best time to plant strawflowers in Elmwood Park should be estimated by looking at the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Strawflowers

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

Since strawflowers do ok in moderate cold you can plant them slightly earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

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

The earliest that you can plant strawflowers in Elmwood Park 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 strawflowers and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your strawflowers may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your strawflowers indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Elmwood Park. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Elmwood Park is not always accurate the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Elmwood Park last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to cover your strawflowers in the event of a surprise 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.