Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By reviewing the USDA zone info for Normal it's possible to estimate when you can plant arctotis.

Planting Calendar for Arctotis

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

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

The earliest that you can plant arctotis in Normal 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 arctotis and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your arctotis may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your arctotis indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for Normal may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Normal there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to protect your arctotis if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Normal

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 Normal

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