The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us figure out 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.

A way of estimating when to plant dipladenia is to use the USDA zone info for East Chicago.

Planting Calendar for Dipladenia

Frost tolerance for dipladenia:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After all chance of frost has passed.

Since dipladenia do not do well in cold weather it is important to wait until after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant dipladenia in East Chicago is April. However, you really should wait until May if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant dipladenia and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your dipladenia may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your dipladenia indoors.

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for East Chicago is just an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in East Chicago you get a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your dipladenia in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for East Chicago

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 East Chicago

You may be interested in your other planting guides for East Chicago.