Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Lake Bluff you can figure out when it's the best time to plant impatiens by reviewing the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Impatiens

Frost tolerance for impatiens:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After all chance of frost has passed.

It's probably a bad idea to plant impatiens until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer because they require warm weather.

The earliest that you can plant impatiens in Lake Bluff 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 impatiens and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your impatiens may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your impatiens indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on April 15 in Lake Bluff. You can expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Lake Bluff is an average and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Lake Bluff you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your impatiens if you have one of those late frosts.

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.