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.

In Elmwood Park you can estimate when it's a good idea to plant helianthemum by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Helianthemum

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

Helianthemum do well in moderate cold which means that you can start planting them earlier than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant helianthemum in Elmwood Park 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 helianthemum and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your helianthemum may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your helianthemum 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 is on April 15 in Elmwood Park. You can expect an average low temperature of 0°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Elmwood Park is an average the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Elmwood Park you get a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your helianthemum if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Elmwood Park

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	0°F
Highest Expected Low	5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 0°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 5°F.

Plants to Grow in Elmwood Park

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