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.

The first opportunity to plant asters in Mount Prospect should be figured out by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Asters

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

Asters are moderately cold tolerant which means that you can plant them earlier than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant asters in Mount Prospect 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 asters and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your asters may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your asters indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on April 15 in Mount Prospect. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Mount Prospect may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Mount Prospect you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your asters in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Mount Prospect

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 Mount Prospect

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Mount Prospect.