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.

One way of getting a good idea when to plant celosia is to look at the USDA zone info for Rockford.

Planting Calendar for Celosia

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

Celosia require warm weather which tells us that it's important to wait until it warms up after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant celosia in Rockford 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 celosia and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your celosia may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your celosia indoors.

Last Frost Date

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

Remember that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for Rockford and it changes from year to year. Half of the time in Rockford last frost occurs after April 15 so always be ready to cover your celosia if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Rockford

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 Rockford

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