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

The USDA zone info for Schiller Park should be used to figure out when you can plant hardy asters.

Planting Calendar for Hardy Asters

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

Since hardy asters are one of those plants that can tolerate a tiny bit of cold weather you can plant them just a tiny bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant hardy asters in Schiller Park 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 hardy asters and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your hardy asters may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your hardy asters indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Schiller Park. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Remember that USDA zone info for Schiller Park is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Schiller Park you get a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your hardy asters in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Schiller Park

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 Schiller Park

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Schiller Park.