The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us determine 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.

In South Bend you can estimate when you can plant echinacea by using the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Echinacea

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

Echinacea are one of those plants that can tolerate a tiny bit of cold weather which means that you can start planting them slightly earlier than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant echinacea in South Bend 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 echinacea and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your echinacea may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your echinacea indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In South Bend the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -10°F.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for South Bend is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in South Bend there is a last frost after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your echinacea if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for South Bend

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-10°F
Highest Expected Low	-5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -5°F.

Plants to Grow in South Bend

You may be interested in your other planting guides for South Bend.