One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out 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.

A way of figuring out when it's a good idea to plant saxifraga is to refer to the USDA zone info for Rantoul.

Planting Calendar for Saxifraga

Frost tolerance for saxifraga:	Tolerant of a very small amount of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 3 weeks before last frost.

You can plant saxifraga slightly earlier in the year because they are barely cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant saxifraga in Rantoul is March. However, you really should wait until April if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant saxifraga and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your saxifraga may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your saxifraga indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for Rantoul is not always accurate the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Rantoul there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to cover your saxifraga if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Rantoul

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 Rantoul

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