Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine your garden schedule. 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 estimate when you can plant four o' clock.

Planting Calendar for Four O' Clock

Frost tolerance for four o' clock:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After all chance of frost has passed.

You can not plant four o' clock until after all chance of frost has passed because they require warm weather.

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

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on April 15 in South Elgin. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for South Elgin and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in South Elgin there is a last frost after April 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your four o' clock if you have 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.