When to Plant Peonies in Hinsdale, IL

Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate 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.

By using the USDA zone info for Hinsdale it's possible to determine when you can plant peonies.


Planting Calendar for Peonies

Frost tolerance for peonies: Tolerant of a very small amount of frost.
When to plant: Up to 3 weeks before last frost.

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

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

The earliest that you can plant peonies in Hinsdale is March. However, you really should wait until April if you don't want to take any chances.

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

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for Hinsdale 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 Hinsdale you get a frost after April 15 be ready to protect your peonies in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Hinsdale

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 Hinsdale

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