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

In Elgin you can figure out when it's the best time to plant pansies by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Pansies

Frost tolerance for pansies:	Very tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 7 weeks before last frost.

Pansies do well in cold which tells us that you can get them planted much earlier than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant pansies in Elgin 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 pansies and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your pansies may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your pansies indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Elgin the average date of last frost happens on March 15. You can expect an average low temperature of 15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for Elgin and it will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Elgin last frost occurs after March 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your pansies in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Elgin

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	15°F
Highest Expected Low	20°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 20°F.

Plants to Grow in Elgin

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