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

By looking at the USDA zone info for Pekin it's a good idea to determine when it's the best time to plant larkspur.

Planting Calendar for Larkspur

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

Since larkspur are very cold tolerant you can plant them quite a bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant larkspur in Pekin 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 larkspur and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your larkspur may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your larkspur indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for Pekin may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Pekin you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your larkspur if you have one of those late frosts.

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.