When to Plant Anchusa in Geneva, IL

Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

You should be able to estimate when it's the best time to plant anchusa by reviewing the USDA zone info for Geneva.


Planting Calendar for Anchusa

Frost tolerance for anchusa: Very tolerant of frost.
When to plant: Up to 7 weeks before last frost.

Since anchusa are one of those plants that can tolerate quite a bit of cold weather you can plant them much earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

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

The earliest that you can plant anchusa in Geneva 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 anchusa and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your anchusa may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your anchusa indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on April 15 in Geneva. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Geneva and it changes from year to year. Half of the time in Geneva it frosts late in the year after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your anchusa in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Geneva

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 Geneva

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