When to Plant Nigella in Mattoon, IL

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

By looking at the USDA zone info for Mattoon you should be able to determine when it's the best time to plant nigella.


Planting Calendar for Nigella

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

Nigella can survive in pretty solid cold which means that you can plant them a lot earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

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

The earliest that you can plant nigella 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 nigella and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your nigella may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your nigella indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on April 15 in Mattoon. It might get as low as -10°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Mattoon is just an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Mattoon you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so always be ready to protect your nigella in the event of a late frost.

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.