One of the first steps you take when you are estimating 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.

By reviewing the USDA zone info for Wilmette you will be able to determine when it's possible to plant creeping phlox.

Planting Calendar for Creeping Phlox

Frost tolerance for creeping phlox:	Very tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 7 weeks before last frost.

Creeping Phlox are very cold tolerant which tells us that you can plant them a quite a bit earlier than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant creeping phlox in Wilmette 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 creeping phlox and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your creeping phlox may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your creeping phlox indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Wilmette. You can expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Wilmette is an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Wilmette you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your creeping phlox in the event of 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.