When to Plant Canna in Highland Park, IL

One of the first steps you take when you are determining your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By reviewing the USDA zone info for Highland Park it's possible to figure out when it's the best time to plant canna.


Planting Calendar for Canna

Frost tolerance for canna: Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant: After the last frost has passed.

Canna require warm weather which tells us that it is important to wait until it warms up after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

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

The earliest that you can plant canna in Highland Park is April. However, you really should wait until May if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant canna and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your canna may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your canna indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Highland Park. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Highland Park and it will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Highland Park you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to protect your canna if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Highland Park

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 Highland Park

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Highland Park.