One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Park Forest you can figure out when you can plant coral bells by reviewing the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Coral Bells

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

You can plant coral bells just a bit earlier in the year because they are one of those plants that can tolerate a little bit of cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant coral bells in Park Forest 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 coral bells and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your coral bells may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your coral bells indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Park Forest the average date of last frost happens on April 15. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Park Forest may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Park Forest last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to cover your coral bells if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Park Forest

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 Park Forest

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Park Forest.