The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us estimate 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 USDA zone info for East Chicago can be reviewed to estimate when it's a good idea to plant gazania.

Planting Calendar for Gazania

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

Since gazania do ok in moderate cold you can plant them slightly earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant gazania in East Chicago 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 gazania and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your gazania may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your gazania indoors.

Last Frost Date

In East Chicago the average date of last frost happens on April 15. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for East Chicago is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in East Chicago last frost occurs after April 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your gazania 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.