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When to Plant Scarlet Pimpernels in Mendota, IL

Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for Mendota can be used to figure out when it's possible to plant scarlet pimpernels.


Planting Calendar for Scarlet Pimpernels

Frost tolerance for scarlet pimpernels: Tolerant of a very small amount of frost.
When to plant: Up to 3 weeks before last frost.

Since scarlet pimpernels are barely cold tolerant you can plant them just a tiny bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

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

The earliest that you can plant scarlet pimpernels in Mendota is March. However, you really should wait until April if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant scarlet pimpernels and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your scarlet pimpernels may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your scarlet pimpernels indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on April 15 in Mendota. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Mendota may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Mendota you get a frost after April 15 be ready to protect your scarlet pimpernels 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.