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

You can determine when it's the best time to plant anchusa in North Chicago by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Anchusa

Frost tolerance for anchusa:	Very tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 7 weeks before last frost.

You can plant anchusa much earlier in the year because they are one of those plants that can tolerate quite a bit of cold weather.

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

Last Frost Date

In North Chicago the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for North Chicago is just an average and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in North Chicago you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so always be ready to protect your anchusa in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for North Chicago

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 North Chicago

You may be interested in your other planting guides for North Chicago.