One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine 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.

A common way of making a decision about when you can plant lenten rose is to check out the USDA zone info for Lake Bluff.

Planting Calendar for Lenten Rose

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

You can plant lenten rose a little earlier in the year because they are one of those plants that can tolerate a little bit of cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant lenten rose 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 lenten rose and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your lenten rose may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your lenten rose indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on April 15 in Lake Bluff. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Lake Bluff may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Lake Bluff it frosts late in the year after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your lenten rose if you have a 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.