When to Plant Tropical Water Plants in Pontiac, IL

One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about 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.

You can figure out when it's a good idea to plant tropical water plants in Pontiac by reviewing the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Tropical Water Plants

Frost tolerance for tropical water plants: Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant: After the last frost when the weather gets warmer.

It's not a good idea to plant tropical water plants until after the last frost because they require warm weather.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant tropical water plants
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant tropical water plants
Probably not a good time to plant tropical water plants

The earliest that you can plant tropical water plants in Pontiac 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 tropical water plants and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your tropical water plants may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your tropical water plants indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Pontiac. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Pontiac may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Pontiac there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to cover your tropical water plants if you have 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.