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.

One way of determining when it's possible to plant verbena is to consult the USDA zone info for Skokie.

Planting Calendar for Verbena

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

Verbena do ok in moderate cold which means that you can plant them slightly earlier than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant verbena in Skokie 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 verbena and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your verbena may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your verbena indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Always keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Skokie and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Skokie there is a last frost after April 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your verbena 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.