When to Plant Primula in University Park, IL

One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

You will be able to figure out when it's the best time to plant primula by looking at the USDA zone info for University Park.


Planting Calendar for Primula

Frost tolerance for primula: Very tolerant of frost.
When to plant: Up to 7 weeks before last frost.

Primula do well in pretty solid cold which means that you can plant them earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

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

The earliest that you can plant primula in University Park is February. However, you really should wait until March if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant primula and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your primula may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your primula indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in University Park. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 5°F.

Since the USDA zone info for University Park is just an average the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in University Park it frosts late in the year after April 15 be ready to protect your primula if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for University Park

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low5°F
Highest Expected Low10°F

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

Plants to Grow in University Park

You may be interested in your other planting guides for University Park.