Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

In East Chicago you can estimate when you can plant four o' clock by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Four O' Clock

Frost tolerance for four o' clock:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost.

Since four o' clock do not do well in cold weather it is important to wait until after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant four o' clock 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 four o' clock and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your four o' clock may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your four o' clock indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In East Chicago the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You should expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for East Chicago is 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 last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to cover your four o' clock 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.