Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for Steger can be reffered to in order to estimate when it's a good idea to plant begonias.

Planting Calendar for Begonias

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

You can not plant begonias until after the last frost has passed because they require warm weather.

The earliest that you can plant begonias in Steger 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 grow to maturity. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your begonias indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Steger. You should expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Steger is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Steger last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to protect your begonias if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Steger

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 Steger

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Steger.