When to Plant Skullcap in Sterling, IL

Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate 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 Sterling should be looked at to determine when you can plant skullcap.


Planting Calendar for Skullcap

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

Skullcap are not cold tolerant which means that it's necessary to wait until it warms up after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

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

The earliest that you can plant skullcap 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 skullcap and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your skullcap may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your skullcap indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Always keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Sterling and it will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Sterling there is a last frost after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your skullcap in the event of one of those late frosts.

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.