One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the 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.

A common way of getting a good idea when it's possible to plant impatiens is to refer to the USDA zone info for Rockford.

Planting Calendar for Impatiens

Frost tolerance for impatiens:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost has passed.

You really shouldn't plant impatiens until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant impatiens 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 impatiens and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your impatiens may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your impatiens indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on April 15 in Rockford. You can expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Rockford may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Rockford you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your impatiens if you have a surprise late frost.

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.