The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

You will be able to figure out when to plant xerianthemum by reviewing the USDA zone info for Lombard.

Planting Calendar for Xerianthemum

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

Xerianthemum do ok in moderate cold which tells us that you can get them planted just a bit earlier than other plants that might not handle the cold.

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

Last Frost Date

In Lombard the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Lombard is just an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Lombard you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your xerianthemum if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Lombard

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 Lombard

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Lombard.