When to Plant Oenothera in Harrisburg, 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.

You can estimate when it's the best time to plant oenothera in Harrisburg by checking out the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Oenothera

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

You can plant oenothera a little earlier in the year because they are moderately cold tolerant.

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

The earliest that you can plant oenothera in Harrisburg 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 oenothera and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your oenothera may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your oenothera indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on April 15 in Harrisburg. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -5°F.

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Harrisburg and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Harrisburg you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your oenothera in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Harrisburg

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low-5°F
Highest Expected Low0°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -5°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 0°F.

Plants to Grow in Harrisburg

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