When to Plant Bells of Ireland in Washington, IL

One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about 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.

It's a good idea to figure out when it's possible to plant bells of ireland by reviewing the USDA zone info for Washington.


Planting Calendar for Bells of Ireland

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

Since bells of ireland are one of those plants that can tolerate a tiny bit of cold weather you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant bells of ireland
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant bells of ireland
Probably not a good time to plant bells of ireland

The earliest that you can plant bells of ireland in Washington 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 bells of ireland and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your bells of ireland may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your bells of ireland indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on April 15 in Washington. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Remember that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Washington and it changes from year to year. Half of the time in Washington last frost occurs after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your bells of ireland if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Washington

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 Washington

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