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 Kankakee you can determine when it's a good idea to plant hemerocallis by reviewing the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Hemerocallis

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

Since hemerocallis are moderately cold tolerant you can plant them a little earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant hemerocallis in Kankakee 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 hemerocallis and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your hemerocallis may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your hemerocallis indoors.

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for Kankakee 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 Kankakee it frosts late in the year after April 15 be ready to cover your hemerocallis in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Kankakee

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 Kankakee

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