Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate 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 East Chicago can be reffered to in order to estimate when it's the best time to plant mecardonia.

Planting Calendar for Mecardonia

Frost tolerance for mecardonia:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost.

Mecardonia are not cold tolerant which tells us that it's important to wait until it warms up after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant mecardonia 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 mecardonia and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your mecardonia may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your mecardonia indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in East Chicago. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Since the USDA zone info for East Chicago is an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in East Chicago it frosts late in the year after April 15 be ready to cover your mecardonia 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.