When to Plant Torch Lilys in Pontiac, IL

Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

You should be able to estimate when you can plant torch lilys by reviewing the USDA zone info for Pontiac.


Planting Calendar for Torch Lilys

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

You can plant torch lilys much earlier in the year because they are very cold tolerant.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant torch lilys
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant torch lilys
Probably not a good time to plant torch lilys

The earliest that you can plant torch lilys in Pontiac 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 torch lilys and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your torch lilys may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your torch lilys indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Pontiac 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 Pontiac is an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Pontiac last frost occurs after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your torch lilys in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Pontiac

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 Pontiac

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