Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

It's a good idea to figure out when it's the best time to plant schizanthus by checking out the USDA zone info for Joliet.

Planting Calendar for Schizanthus

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

Since schizanthus are not cold tolerant you have to wait until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant schizanthus in Joliet 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 schizanthus and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your schizanthus may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your schizanthus indoors.

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for Joliet is not always accurate the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Joliet you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your schizanthus if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Joliet

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 Joliet

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