When to Plant Centaurea in Niles, IL

One of the first steps you take when you are estimating 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.

You can estimate when you can plant centaurea in Niles by using the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Centaurea

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

You can plant centaurea a little earlier in the year because they do well in moderate cold.

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

The earliest that you can plant centaurea 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 centaurea and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your centaurea may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your centaurea indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Niles the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -10°F.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Niles 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 Niles it frosts late in the year after April 15 so always be ready to cover your centaurea if you have a 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.