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.

In Palatine you can estimate when it's a good idea to plant calibrachoa by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Calibrachoa

Frost tolerance for calibrachoa:	Tolerant of a very small amount of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 3 weeks before last frost.

Since calibrachoa do ok in moderate cold you can plant them slightly earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant calibrachoa in Palatine is March. However, you really should wait until April if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant calibrachoa and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your calibrachoa may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your calibrachoa indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Palatine the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You should expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Palatine and it changes from year to year. Half of the time in Palatine it frosts late in the year after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your calibrachoa in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Palatine

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 Palatine

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