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.

In South Elgin you can determine when it's a good idea to plant begonias by using the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Begonias

Frost tolerance for begonias:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After all chance of frost has passed.

Since begonias do not do well in cold weather you really should wait until after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant begonias in South Elgin 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 begonias and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your begonias may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your begonias 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 South Elgin. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for South Elgin is not always accurate the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in South Elgin you get a frost after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your begonias in the event of 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.