One of the first steps you take when you are estimating 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.

In Manteno you can figure out when it's possible to plant helianthemum by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Helianthemum

Frost tolerance for helianthemum:	Tolerant of some frost.
When to plant:	Up to 5 weeks before last frost.

You can plant helianthemum a little bit earlier in the year because they are one of those plants that can tolerate a little bit of cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant helianthemum in Manteno is February. However, you really should wait until March if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant helianthemum and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your helianthemum may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your helianthemum indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on April 15 in Manteno. You can expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Manteno is just an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Manteno you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your helianthemum in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Manteno

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 Manteno

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