One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By referring to the USDA zone info for Rockford you should be able to figure out when to plant calliopsis.

Planting Calendar for Calliopsis

Frost tolerance for calliopsis:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost has passed.

Calliopsis require warm weather which means that it's necessary to wait until it warms up after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant calliopsis in Rockford 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 calliopsis and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your calliopsis may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your calliopsis indoors.

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for Rockford may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Rockford you get a frost after April 15 so always be ready to cover your calliopsis if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Rockford

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 Rockford

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