One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea 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.

By referring to the USDA zone info for Mchenry it's a good idea to estimate when it's the best time to plant tithonia.

Planting Calendar for Tithonia

Frost tolerance for tithonia:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost has passed.

It's probably a bad idea to plant tithonia until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer because they require warm weather.

The earliest that you can plant tithonia in Mchenry is April. However, you really should wait until May if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant tithonia and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your tithonia may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your tithonia indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Mchenry the average date of last frost happens on April 15. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Mchenry is not always accurate the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Mchenry last frost occurs after April 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your tithonia if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Mchenry

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 Mchenry

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