One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine 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.

It's a good idea to figure out when to plant firebush by reviewing the USDA zone info for Mount Prospect.

Planting Calendar for Firebush

Frost tolerance for firebush:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost.

Since firebush are not cold tolerant you must wait until after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant firebush in Mount Prospect is April. However, you really should wait until May if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant firebush and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your firebush may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your firebush indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Mount Prospect. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Mount Prospect and it will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Mount Prospect there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to protect your firebush in the event of a 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.