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.

The first chance to plant lunaria in Mattoon should be determined by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Lunaria

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

Since lunaria do well in moderate cold you can plant them a little earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

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

Last Frost Date

In Mattoon the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You can expect an average low temperature of -10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Mattoon may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Mattoon you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to protect your lunaria in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Mattoon

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-10°F
Highest Expected Low	-5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -5°F.

Plants to Grow in Mattoon

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