Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

You should be able to figure out when it's a good idea to plant scaevola by referring to the USDA zone info for Wilmette.

Planting Calendar for Scaevola

Frost tolerance for scaevola:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost.

You can not plant scaevola until after the last frost has passed because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant scaevola 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 scaevola and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your scaevola may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your scaevola indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Wilmette. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Wilmette is just an average and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Wilmette you get a frost after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your scaevola in the event of a surprise 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.