One of the first steps you take when you are estimating your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

A common way of figuring out when you can plant brachycome is to examine the USDA zone info for Wilmette.

Planting Calendar for Brachycome

Frost tolerance for brachycome:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost when the weather gets warmer.

Since brachycome require warm weather you really should wait until after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant brachycome in Wilmette 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 brachycome and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your brachycome may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your brachycome 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 Wilmette. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Wilmette is not always accurate the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Wilmette there is a last frost after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your brachycome if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Wilmette

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 Wilmette

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