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 South Elgin can be used to determine when it's a good idea to plant aurinia.

Planting Calendar for Aurinia

Frost tolerance for aurinia:	Very tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 7 weeks before last frost.

Aurinia do well in pretty solid cold which tells us that you can plant them earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant aurinia in South Elgin 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 aurinia and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your aurinia may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your aurinia indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for South Elgin and it will vary from year to year. Half of the time in South Elgin you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so always be ready to cover your aurinia if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for South Elgin

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 South Elgin

You may be interested in your other planting guides for South Elgin.