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

The USDA zone info for Rockford should be read to determine when to plant lisianthus.

Planting Calendar for Lisianthus

Frost tolerance for lisianthus:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After all chance of frost has passed.

Lisianthus require warm weather which tells us that you must wait until it warms up after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant lisianthus 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 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 really do well. If you are starting your lisianthus indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Rockford the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Rockford and it will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Rockford it frosts late in the year after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your lisianthus if you have a 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.