When to Plant Pincushion Flower in Mendota, IL

Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

It's possible to estimate when you can plant pincushion flower by using the USDA zone info for Mendota.


Planting Calendar for Pincushion Flower

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

Since pincushion flower do well in moderate cold you can plant them a little bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

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

The earliest that you can plant pincushion flower in Mendota 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 pincushion flower and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your pincushion flower may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your pincushion flower indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Mendota. You should expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Mendota is just an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Mendota last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to cover your pincushion flower in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Mendota

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 Mendota

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