One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out 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.

In South Elgin you can figure out when it's the best time to plant tropical water plants by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Tropical Water Plants

Frost tolerance for tropical water plants:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost when the weather gets warmer.

You really shouldn't plant tropical water plants until after the last frost has passed because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant tropical water plants 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 tropical water plants and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your tropical water plants may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your tropical water plants indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for South Elgin may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in South Elgin last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to protect your tropical water plants 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.