One of the first steps you take when you are determining 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.

By looking at the USDA zone info for Elgin it's a good idea to figure out when it's possible to plant sutera.

Planting Calendar for Sutera

Frost tolerance for sutera:	Tolerant of a very small amount of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 3 weeks before last frost.

Since sutera are one of those plants that can tolerate a tiny bit of cold weather you can plant them slightly earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant sutera in Elgin is March. However, you really should wait until April if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant sutera and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your sutera may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your sutera indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is March 15 in Elgin. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 15°F.

Remember that USDA zone info for Elgin is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Elgin you get surprised by a frost after March 15 be ready to cover your sutera if you have 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.