One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate 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.

A common way of making a decision about when you can plant asters is to examine the USDA zone info for Hickory Hills.

Planting Calendar for Asters

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

Asters do ok in mild cold which means that you can plant them a little earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant asters in Hickory Hills 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 asters and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your asters may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your asters indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Hickory Hills. You should expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Hickory Hills and it changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Hickory Hills last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to cover your asters in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Hickory Hills

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 Hickory Hills

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Hickory Hills.