When to Plant Buddha belly plant in Sterling, IL

One of the first steps you take when you are estimating 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 Sterling you can estimate when it's a good idea to plant buddha belly plant by using the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Buddha belly plant

Frost tolerance for buddha belly plant: Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant: After all chance of frost has passed.

Since buddha belly plant require warm weather it is necessary to wait until after the last frost before you can plant them.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant buddha belly plant
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant buddha belly plant
Probably not a good time to plant buddha belly plant

The earliest that you can plant buddha belly plant in Sterling 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 buddha belly plant and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your buddha belly plant may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your buddha belly plant indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Sterling the average date of last frost happens on April 15. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

It's important 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 Sterling and it is different every year. Half of the time in Sterling you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your buddha belly plant if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Sterling

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 Sterling

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