When to Plant Phlox in Wilmette, IL

One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The first chance to plant phlox in Wilmette can be estimated by reviewing the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Phlox

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

Since phlox do well in moderate cold you can plant them just a bit earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant phlox
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant phlox
Probably not a good time to plant phlox

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

Last Frost Date

In Wilmette the average date of last frost happens on April 15. 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 will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Wilmette you get a frost after April 15 be ready to protect your phlox 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.