When to Plant Lenten Rose in Wilmington, IL

Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out 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.

It's a good idea to estimate when you can plant lenten rose by using the USDA zone info for Wilmington.


Planting Calendar for Lenten Rose

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

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

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

The earliest that you can plant lenten rose in Wilmington 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 lenten rose and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your lenten rose may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your lenten rose indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Wilmington the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Wilmington is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Wilmington last frost occurs after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your lenten rose if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Wilmington

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 Wilmington

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