When to Plant Gaillardia in Frankfort, IL

One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the 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 best time to plant gaillardia in Frankfort should be determined by referring to the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Gaillardia

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

You can plant gaillardia just a tiny bit earlier in the year because they are one of those plants that can tolerate a tiny bit of cold weather.

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

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

Last Frost Date

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

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for Frankfort and it changes from year to year. Half of the time in Frankfort you get a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your gaillardia if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Frankfort

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 Frankfort

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