One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

One way of figuring out when it's a good idea to plant oenothera is to check out the USDA zone info for Gary.

Planting Calendar for Oenothera

Frost tolerance for oenothera:	Tolerant of some frost.
When to plant:	Up to 5 weeks before last frost.

Oenothera can survive in moderate cold which tells us that you can plant them just a bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant oenothera in Gary is February. However, you really should wait until March if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant oenothera and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your oenothera may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your oenothera indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on April 15 in Gary. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Gary is just an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Gary there is a last frost after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your oenothera if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Gary

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 Gary

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Gary.