One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the 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 Morton it's a good idea to determine when 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 do ok in quite a bit of cold which means that you can plant them much earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant nigella in Morton 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 grow to maturity. If you are starting your nigella indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for Morton may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Morton it frosts late in the year after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your nigella in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Morton

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 Morton

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