When to Plant Torch Lilys in River Forest, IL

One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out your gardening schedule is find your 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.

In River Forest you can figure out when it's a good idea to plant torch lilys by checking out the USDA zone info.


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 quite a bit 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 River Forest 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. If you wait any later than that and your torch lilys may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your torch lilys indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on April 15 in River Forest. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -10°F.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for River Forest is just an average and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in River Forest last frost occurs after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your torch lilys if you have a 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.