One of the first steps you take when you are determining your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for Loves Park can be reviewed to estimate when it's a good idea to plant oleander.

Planting Calendar for Oleander

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

Since oleander require warm weather you must wait until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant oleander 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 oleander and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your oleander may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your oleander indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Loves Park 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 Loves Park is not always accurate the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Loves Park you get a frost after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your oleander in the event of a surprise late frost.

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.