Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By using the USDA zone info for Willowbrook it's a good idea to figure out when it's the best time to plant columbine.

Planting Calendar for Columbine

Frost tolerance for columbine:	Tolerant of some frost.
When to plant:	Up to 5 weeks before last frost.

Columbine tend to make it in a little bit of cold which means that you can plant them a little earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant columbine in Willowbrook 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 columbine and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your columbine may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your columbine 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 Willowbrook. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Willowbrook may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Willowbrook you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your columbine if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Willowbrook

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 Willowbrook

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