Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out 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.

The earliest that you can plant tithonia in Rockford can be determined by using the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Tithonia

Frost tolerance for tithonia:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost.

It's probably a bad idea to plant tithonia until after the last frost because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant tithonia 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 tithonia and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your tithonia may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your tithonia indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed 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 is not always accurate the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Rockford last frost occurs after April 15 so always be ready to cover your tithonia 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.