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.

The USDA zone info for Island Lake can be looked at to estimate when it's a good idea to plant firebush.

Planting Calendar for Firebush

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

You really shouldn't plant firebush until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer because they require warm weather.

The earliest that you can plant firebush in Island Lake 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 firebush and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your firebush may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your firebush indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on April 15 in Island Lake. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Island Lake is an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Island Lake there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to protect your firebush in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Island Lake

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 Island Lake

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Island Lake.