One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

One way of figuring out when it's possible to plant dipladenia is to consult the USDA zone info for Evanston.

Planting Calendar for Dipladenia

Frost tolerance for dipladenia:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After all chance of frost has passed.

Since dipladenia require warm weather it is important to wait until after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

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

Last Frost Date

In Evanston the average date of last frost happens on April 15. It might get as low as -20°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Evanston is not always accurate the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Evanston you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so always be ready to protect your dipladenia in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Evanston

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 Evanston

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