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

In Machesney Park you can estimate when you can plant platycodon by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Platycodon

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

You can plant platycodon slightly earlier in the year because they do ok in moderate cold.

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

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Machesney Park. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Machesney Park may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Machesney Park last frost occurs after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your platycodon in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Machesney 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 Machesney Park

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