When to Plant Lisianthus in River Forest, IL

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.

You should be able to estimate when it's a good idea to plant lisianthus by looking at the USDA zone info for River Forest.


Planting Calendar for Lisianthus

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

Since lisianthus are not cold tolerant it is necessary to wait until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

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

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

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in River Forest. You should expect an average low temperature of -10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for River Forest may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in River Forest it frosts late in the year after April 15 be ready to cover your lisianthus if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for River Forest

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low-10°F
Highest Expected Low-5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -5°F.

Plants to Grow in River Forest

You may be interested in your other planting guides for River Forest.