One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the 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 pansies is to consult the USDA zone info for Winnetka.

Planting Calendar for Pansies

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

Pansies are very cold tolerant which tells us that you can get them planted much earlier than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant pansies in Winnetka 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 pansies and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your pansies may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your pansies indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Winnetka is just an average and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Winnetka you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your pansies in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Winnetka

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 Winnetka

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