One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By reviewing the USDA zone info for Loves Park it's a good idea to estimate when it's the best time to plant hamelia.

Planting Calendar for Hamelia

Frost tolerance for hamelia:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost.

It's probably not a good idea to plant hamelia until after all chance of frost has passed because they require warm weather.

The earliest that you can plant hamelia in Loves Park 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 hamelia and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your hamelia may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your hamelia 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 Loves Park. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Loves Park is an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Loves Park last frost occurs after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your hamelia if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Loves Park

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 Loves Park

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Loves Park.