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 determine when it's a good idea to plant cardinal flower by using the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Cardinal Flower

Frost tolerance for cardinal flower:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost.

You can not plant cardinal flower until after the last frost because they do not do well in cold weather.

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

The last month that you can plant cardinal flower and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your cardinal flower may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your cardinal flower indoors.

Last Frost Date

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

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Palatine and it will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Palatine last frost occurs after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your cardinal flower if you have a surprise 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.