One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

A common way of determining when it's a good idea to plant geranium is to check out the USDA zone info for Naperville.

Planting Calendar for Geranium

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

Geranium do not do well in cold weather which tells us that it is important to wait until it warms up after the last frost before you can plant them.

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

Last Frost Date

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

Remember that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Naperville and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Naperville you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to protect your geranium if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Naperville

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 Naperville

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