One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule is the 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.

One way of making a decision about when to plant firebush is to look at the USDA zone info for Pekin.

Planting Calendar for Firebush

Frost tolerance for firebush:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After all chance of frost has passed.

Firebush are not cold tolerant which tells us that you must wait until it warms up after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant firebush in Pekin 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 firebush and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your firebush may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your firebush indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on April 15 in Pekin. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Pekin may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Pekin last frost occurs after April 15 so always be ready to protect your firebush if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Pekin

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 Pekin

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