One of the first steps you take when you are estimating your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Oak Park you can estimate when it's a good idea to plant achimenes by reviewing the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Achimenes

Frost tolerance for achimenes:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After all chance of frost has passed.

You can not plant achimenes until after the last frost because they require warm weather.

The earliest that you can plant achimenes in Oak Park 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 achimenes and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your achimenes may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your achimenes indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on April 15 in Oak Park. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -10°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Oak Park is just an average the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Oak Park last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to protect your achimenes if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Oak Park

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 Oak Park

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Oak Park.