One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out your gardening schedule is find your 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.

You will be able to determine when you can plant flowering tobacco by referring to the USDA zone info for Ilion.

Planting Calendar for Flowering Tobacco

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

Flowering Tobacco require warm weather which means that it is important to wait until it warms up after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant flowering tobacco in Ilion 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 flowering tobacco and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your flowering tobacco may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your flowering tobacco indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Ilion the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You should expect an average low temperature of -20°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Ilion is an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Ilion there is a last frost after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your flowering tobacco in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Ilion

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-20°F
Highest Expected Low	-15°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -15°F.

Plants to Grow in Ilion

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