When to Plant Tropical Water Plants in Wheeling, 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 USDA zone info for Wheeling can be read to estimate when you can plant tropical water plants.


Planting Calendar for Tropical Water Plants

Frost tolerance for tropical water plants: Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant: After the last frost has passed.

Tropical Water Plants require warm weather which means that you really should wait until it warms up after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant tropical water plants
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant tropical water plants
Probably not a good time to plant tropical water plants

The earliest that you can plant tropical water plants in Wheeling 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 tropical water plants and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your tropical water plants may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your tropical water plants indoors.

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for Wheeling is an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Wheeling you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your tropical water plants if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Wheeling

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 Wheeling

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