One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

You can estimate when it's the best time to plant doronicum in South Elgin by using the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Doronicum

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

Doronicum do ok in mild cold which means that you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant doronicum 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 doronicum and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your doronicum may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your doronicum indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on April 15 in South Elgin. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Since the USDA zone info for South Elgin is just an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in South Elgin you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your doronicum in the event of one of those late frosts.

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.