frostdate name logo in white
frostdate name logo in white

When to Plant Balloon Flower in Sullivan, IL

Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

A common way of making a decision about when it's a good idea to plant balloon flower is to consult the USDA zone info for Sullivan.


Planting Calendar for Balloon Flower

Frost tolerance for balloon flower: Tolerant of a very small amount of frost.
When to plant: Up to 3 weeks before last frost.

Since balloon flower are one of those plants that can tolerate a tiny bit of cold weather you can plant them slightly earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

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

The earliest that you can plant balloon flower in Sullivan is March. However, you really should wait until April if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant balloon flower and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your balloon flower may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your balloon flower indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Sullivan the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -10°F.

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Sullivan and it is different every year. Half of the time in Sullivan there is a last frost after April 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your balloon flower if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Sullivan

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low-10°F
Highest Expected Low-5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -5°F.

Plants to Grow in Sullivan

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