One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about 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.

By referring to the USDA zone info for South Elgin it's a good idea to estimate when you can plant snapdragons.

Planting Calendar for Snapdragons

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

You can plant snapdragons a bit earlier in the year because they do well in moderate cold.

The earliest that you can plant snapdragons 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 snapdragons and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your snapdragons may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your snapdragons indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks 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 should expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for South Elgin and it is different every year. Half of the time in South Elgin you get a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your snapdragons 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.