When to Plant Dusty Miller in Lake Bluff, IL

The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The earliest that you can plant dusty miller in Lake Bluff should be estimated by reviewing the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Dusty Miller

Frost tolerance for dusty miller: Very tolerant of frost.
When to plant: Up to 7 weeks before last frost.

Dusty Miller are one of those plants that can tolerate quite a bit of cold weather which tells us that you can plant them much earlier than other frost tender plants.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant dusty miller
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant dusty miller
Probably not a good time to plant dusty miller

The earliest that you can plant dusty miller in Lake Bluff 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 dusty miller and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your dusty miller may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your dusty miller indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on April 15 in Lake Bluff. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Lake Bluff is not always accurate the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Lake Bluff you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to protect your dusty miller in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Lake Bluff

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 Lake Bluff

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Lake Bluff.