One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the 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.

In Island Lake you can determine when it's possible to plant forget-me-not by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Forget-Me-Not

Frost tolerance for forget-me-not:	Tolerant of some frost.
When to plant:	Up to 5 weeks before last frost.

Since forget-me-not do well in moderate cold you can plant them a little earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant forget-me-not in Island Lake 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 forget-me-not and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your forget-me-not may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your forget-me-not indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on April 15 in Island Lake. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Island Lake is just an average and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Island Lake it frosts late in the year after April 15 be ready to cover your forget-me-not in the event of a surprise 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.