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

In Lake Villa you can figure out when you can plant balloon flower by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Balloon Flower

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

Since balloon flower are one of those plants that can tolerate a tiny bit of cold weather you can plant them slightly earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

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

Last Frost Date

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

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Lake Villa is just an average and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Lake Villa you get a frost after April 15 be ready to protect your balloon flower in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Lake Villa

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 Villa

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