One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about 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.

A common way of making a decision about when it's a good idea to plant heuchera is to refer to the USDA zone info for Island Lake.

Planting Calendar for Heuchera

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

Heuchera do well in moderate cold which means that you can get them planted earlier than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant heuchera 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 heuchera and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your heuchera may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your heuchera indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last 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 may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Island Lake there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to protect your heuchera if you have 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.