When to Plant Leeks in Chicago Ridge, IL

Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

It's a good idea to estimate when you can plant leeks by looking at the USDA zone info for Chicago Ridge.


Planting Calendar for Leeks

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

Leeks do well in cold which tells us that you can plant them much earlier than more sensitive plants.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant leeks
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant leeks
Probably not a good time to plant leeks

The earliest that you can plant leeks in Chicago Ridge 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 leeks and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your leeks may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your leeks indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Chicago Ridge. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -10°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Chicago Ridge is not always accurate the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Chicago Ridge you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to protect your leeks in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Chicago Ridge

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low-10°F
Highest Expected Low-5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -5°F.

Plants to Grow in Chicago Ridge

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Chicago Ridge.