When to Plant Purple Bell Vines in Evanston, IL

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

The USDA zone info for Evanston should be reffered to in order to determine when it's the best time to plant purple bell vines.


Planting Calendar for Purple Bell Vines

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

You can plant purple bell vines just a tiny bit earlier in the year because they are barely cold tolerant.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant purple bell vines
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant purple bell vines
Probably not a good time to plant purple bell vines

The earliest that you can plant purple bell vines in Evanston 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 purple bell vines and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your purple bell vines may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your purple bell vines 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. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Remember that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Evanston and it is different every year. Half of the time in Evanston you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so always be ready to protect your purple bell vines 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.