When to Plant Gladiolus in Geneseo, IL

One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The earliest that you can plant gladiolus in Geneseo can be estimated by reviewing the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Gladiolus

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

Gladiolus can survive in some cold which tells us that you can plant them slightly earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

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

The earliest that you can plant gladiolus in Geneseo 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 gladiolus and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your gladiolus may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your gladiolus indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on April 15 in Geneseo. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Geneseo and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Geneseo it frosts late in the year after April 15 be ready to protect your gladiolus in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Geneseo

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 Geneseo

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