When to Plant Candytuft in Niles, IL

One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out your gardening schedule is find your 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.

The USDA zone info for Niles should be used to determine when it's possible to plant candytuft.


Planting Calendar for Candytuft

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

Candytuft do ok in moderate cold which tells us that you can plant them a little earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant candytuft
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant candytuft
Probably not a good time to plant candytuft

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

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Niles. It might get as low as -10°F during the coldest months of winter.

Remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Niles and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Niles last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to protect your candytuft in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Niles

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low-10°F
Highest Expected Low-5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -5°F.

Plants to Grow in Niles

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