When to Plant Heliotrope in Evanston, IL

One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Evanston you can estimate when it's possible to plant heliotrope by looking at the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Heliotrope

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

Since heliotrope are not cold tolerant you must wait until after the last frost before you can plant them.

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

The earliest that you can plant heliotrope in Evanston 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 heliotrope and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your heliotrope may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your heliotrope indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Evanston is just an average and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Evanston you get a frost after April 15 be ready to protect your heliotrope if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Evanston

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 Evanston

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Evanston.