Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate 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 to plant petunias by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Petunias

Frost tolerance for petunias:	Tolerant of a very small amount of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 3 weeks before last frost.

Petunias are barely cold tolerant which tells us that you can plant them slightly earlier than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant petunias in Lake Bluff is March. However, you really should wait until April if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant petunias and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your petunias may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your petunias indoors.

Last Frost Date

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

Always keep in mind 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 it frosts late in the year after April 15 so always be ready to cover your petunias 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.