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.

The USDA zone info for Decatur can be looked at to determine when it's a good idea to plant platycodon.

Planting Calendar for Platycodon

Frost tolerance for platycodon:	Tolerant of a very small amount of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 3 weeks before last frost.

You can plant platycodon just a tiny bit earlier in the year because they do ok in moderate cold.

The earliest that you can plant platycodon in Decatur is March. However, you really should wait until April if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant platycodon and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your platycodon may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your platycodon indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on April 15 in Decatur. It might get as low as -10°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Decatur is just an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Decatur you get a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your platycodon if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Decatur

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-10°F
Highest Expected Low	-5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -5°F.

Plants to Grow in Decatur

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