When to Plant Basket of Gold in Ottawa, IL

The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The best time to plant basket of gold in Ottawa can be determined by referring to the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Basket of Gold

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

Basket of Gold do well in pretty solid cold which means that you can plant them quite a bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant basket of gold
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant basket of gold
Probably not a good time to plant basket of gold

The earliest that you can plant basket of gold in Ottawa 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 basket of gold and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your basket of gold may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your basket of gold indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Ottawa 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.

Since the USDA zone info for Ottawa may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Ottawa you get a frost after April 15 be ready to protect your basket of gold in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Ottawa

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 Ottawa

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