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

A common way of getting a good idea when it's possible to plant cardinal flower is to consult the USDA zone info for Prospect Heights.

Planting Calendar for Cardinal Flower

Frost tolerance for cardinal flower:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost.

Cardinal Flower are not cold tolerant which means that you need to wait until it warms up after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant cardinal flower in Prospect Heights 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 cardinal flower and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your cardinal flower may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your cardinal flower indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Prospect Heights. You can expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Remember that USDA zone info for Prospect Heights is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Prospect Heights last frost occurs after April 15 so always be ready to cover your cardinal flower in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Prospect Heights

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 Prospect Heights

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Prospect Heights.