When to Plant Maltese Cross in Kankakee, IL

The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for Kankakee can be used to estimate when it's a good idea to plant maltese cross.


Planting Calendar for Maltese Cross

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

You can plant maltese cross a bit earlier in the year because they do well in moderate cold.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant maltese cross
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant maltese cross
Probably not a good time to plant maltese cross

The earliest that you can plant maltese cross 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 maltese cross and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your maltese cross may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your maltese cross indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on April 15 in Kankakee. You can expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Kankakee may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Kankakee last frost occurs after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your maltese cross in the event of a surprise late frost.

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.