When to Plant Coral Bells in Highland, IL

One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

It's a good idea to figure out when it's possible to plant coral bells by looking at the USDA zone info for Highland.


Planting Calendar for Coral Bells

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

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

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

The earliest that you can plant coral bells in Highland 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 coral bells and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your coral bells may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your coral bells indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Highland the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You should expect an average low temperature of -10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Highland may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Highland there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to protect your coral bells in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Highland

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low-10°F
Highest Expected Low-5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -5°F.

Plants to Grow in Highland

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