When to Plant Nigella in Milan, 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.

You will be able to figure out when it's a good idea to plant nigella by reviewing the USDA zone info for Milan.


Planting Calendar for Nigella

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

Nigella do well in cold which tells us that you can start planting them much earlier than other plants that might not handle the cold.

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 Milan 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. If you wait any later than that and your nigella may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your nigella indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Milan the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Milan 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 Milan you get a frost after April 15 be ready to protect your nigella in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Milan

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 Milan

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