When to Plant Canna in Skokie, IL

One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate 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 Skokie can be read to determine when it's possible to plant canna.


Planting Calendar for Canna

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

It's not a good idea to plant canna until after the last frost because they do not do well in cold weather.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant canna
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant canna
Probably not a good time to plant canna

The earliest that you can plant canna in Skokie 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 canna and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your canna may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your canna indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Skokie the average date of last frost happens on April 15. It might get as low as -10°F during the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Skokie is just an average and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Skokie you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your canna if you have 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.