One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The best time to plant snapdragons in Elgin should be figured out by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Snapdragons

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

Since snapdragons do well in moderate cold you can plant them just a bit earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant snapdragons 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 snapdragons and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your snapdragons may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your snapdragons indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on March 15 in Elgin. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 15°F.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Elgin is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Elgin you get surprised by a frost after March 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your snapdragons if you have a surprise late frost.

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.