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.

By using the USDA zone info for East Chicago it's a good idea to figure out when it's a good idea to plant hardy asters.

Planting Calendar for Hardy Asters

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

You can plant hardy asters slightly earlier in the year because they are barely cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant hardy asters 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 hardy asters and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your hardy asters may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your hardy asters indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on April 15 in East Chicago. You can expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for East Chicago may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in East Chicago it frosts late in the year after April 15 so always be ready to protect your hardy asters if you have 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.