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

In Hoffman Estates you can estimate when to plant basil by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Basil

Frost tolerance for basil:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost has passed.

It's probably not a good idea to plant basil until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant basil in Hoffman Estates 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 basil and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your basil may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your basil indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on April 15 in Hoffman Estates. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Hoffman Estates may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Hoffman Estates you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your basil if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Hoffman Estates

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 Hoffman Estates

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Hoffman Estates.