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.

The USDA zone info for South Milwaukee should be reviewed to figure out when to plant coreopsis.

Planting Calendar for Coreopsis

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

Coreopsis tend to make it in moderate cold which means that you can plant them just a bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant coreopsis in South Milwaukee 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 coreopsis and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your coreopsis may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your coreopsis indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In South Milwaukee the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Since the USDA zone info for South Milwaukee is just an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in South Milwaukee you get a frost after April 15 so always be ready to protect your coreopsis in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for South Milwaukee

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-15°F
Highest Expected Low	-10°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 -10°F.

Plants to Grow in South Milwaukee

You may be interested in your other planting guides for South Milwaukee.