When to Plant Primula in Zion, IL

The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

The best time to plant primula in Zion should be figured out by using the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Primula

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

You can plant primula quite a bit earlier in the year because they are very cold tolerant.

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

The earliest that you can plant primula in Zion 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 primula and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your primula may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your primula 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 Zion. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Zion is just an average the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Zion you get a frost after April 15 be ready to protect your primula if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Zion

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 Zion

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