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 way of determining when it's the best time to plant hemerocallis is to examine the USDA zone info for Wilmette.

Planting Calendar for Hemerocallis

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

Hemerocallis do ok in some cold which means that you can plant them just a bit earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant hemerocallis 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 hemerocallis and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your hemerocallis may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your hemerocallis indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for Wilmette is not always accurate the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Wilmette last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to cover your hemerocallis 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.