One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out 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.

You will be able to estimate when you can plant red hot pokers by using the USDA zone info for Cicero.

Planting Calendar for Red Hot Pokers

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

Red Hot Pokers can survive in cold weather which tells us that you can plant them quite a bit earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant red hot pokers in Cicero 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 red hot pokers and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your red hot pokers may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your red hot pokers indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on April 15 in Cicero. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for Cicero and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Cicero there is a last frost after April 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your red hot pokers if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Cicero

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 Cicero

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