When to Plant Osteospermum in Galesburg, 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 USDA zone info for Galesburg should be used to estimate when it's a good idea to plant osteospermum.


Planting Calendar for Osteospermum

Frost tolerance for osteospermum: Tolerant of some frost.
When to plant: Up to 5 weeks before last frost.

Since osteospermum are moderately cold tolerant you can plant them just a bit earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

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

The earliest that you can plant osteospermum in Galesburg is February. However, you really should wait until March if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant osteospermum and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your osteospermum may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your osteospermum indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Galesburg the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you can 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 Galesburg and it will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Galesburg it frosts late in the year after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your osteospermum in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Galesburg

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 Galesburg

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