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.

A common way of making a decision about when you can plant bachelor buttons is to consult the USDA zone info for Skokie.

Planting Calendar for Bachelor Buttons

Frost tolerance for bachelor buttons:	Tolerant of some frost.
When to plant:	Up to 5 weeks before last frost.

Bachelor Buttons are moderately cold tolerant which tells us that you can get them planted earlier than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant bachelor buttons in Skokie 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 bachelor buttons and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your bachelor buttons may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your bachelor buttons indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Skokie is just an average and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Skokie you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to protect your bachelor buttons in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Skokie

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 Skokie

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