When to Plant Creeping Phlox in Marengo, IL

One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out 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 earliest that you can plant creeping phlox in Marengo should be figured out by referring to the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Creeping Phlox

Frost tolerance for creeping phlox: Very tolerant of frost.
When to plant: Up to 7 weeks before last frost.

Since creeping phlox are very cold tolerant you can plant them much earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant creeping phlox
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant creeping phlox
Probably not a good time to plant creeping phlox

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

Last Frost Date

In Marengo the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You can expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Marengo and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Marengo there is a last frost after April 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your creeping phlox in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Marengo

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 Marengo

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