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.

The USDA zone info for Lake Bluff should be read to estimate when it's possible to plant sunflowers.

Planting Calendar for Sunflowers

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

It's probably not a good idea to plant sunflowers until after the last frost because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant sunflowers 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 sunflowers and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your sunflowers may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your sunflowers indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer 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 changes from year to year. Half of the time in Lake Bluff you get a frost after April 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your sunflowers if you have 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.