When to Plant Scarlet Pimpernels in Forest Park, IL

One of the first steps you take when you are estimating 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 USDA zone info for Forest Park should be read to determine when it's a good idea to plant scarlet pimpernels.


Planting Calendar for Scarlet Pimpernels

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

You can plant scarlet pimpernels a bit earlier in the year because they are barely cold tolerant.

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

The earliest that you can plant scarlet pimpernels in Forest 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 scarlet pimpernels and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your scarlet pimpernels may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your scarlet pimpernels indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Forest Park. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -10°F.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Forest Park is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Forest Park you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your scarlet pimpernels if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Forest Park

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low-10°F
Highest Expected Low-5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -5°F.

Plants to Grow in Forest Park

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