When to Plant Lantana in West Chicago, IL

Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

The earliest that you can plant lantana in West Chicago can be figured out by using the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Lantana

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

Since lantana require warm weather you need to wait until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

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

The earliest that you can plant lantana in West Chicago 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 lantana and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your lantana may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your lantana 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 West Chicago. You should expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for West Chicago may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in West Chicago you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to protect your lantana if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for West Chicago

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 West Chicago

You may be interested in your other planting guides for West Chicago.