One of the first steps you take when you are determining 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.

By referring to the USDA zone info for Urbana it's possible to figure out when it's possible to plant anchusa.

Planting Calendar for Anchusa

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

You can plant anchusa quite a bit earlier in the year because they do well in cold.

The earliest that you can plant anchusa in Urbana 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 anchusa and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your anchusa may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your anchusa indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Urbana. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Urbana is an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Urbana there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to cover your anchusa if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Urbana

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 Urbana

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