The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for Rockford should be looked at to determine when to plant oenothera.

Planting Calendar for Oenothera

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

Oenothera tend to make it in moderate cold which means that you can plant them just a bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant oenothera in Rockford 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. If you wait any later than that and your oenothera may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your oenothera indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Rockford. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Rockford is just an average and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Rockford you get a frost after April 15 be ready to protect your oenothera in the event of 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.