One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for Itasca should be reviewed to figure out when it's a good idea to plant hamelia.

Planting Calendar for Hamelia

Frost tolerance for hamelia:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost when the weather gets warmer.

Since hamelia are not cold tolerant it is necessary to wait until after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant hamelia in Itasca 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 hamelia and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your hamelia may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your hamelia indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for Itasca is just an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Itasca last frost occurs after April 15 so always be ready to cover your hamelia in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Itasca

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 Itasca

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