One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule is the 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.

A way of estimating when you can plant sweet williams is to refer to the USDA zone info for Palatine.

Planting Calendar for Sweet Williams

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

You can plant sweet williams a bit earlier in the year because they are one of those plants that can tolerate a little bit of cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant sweet williams in Palatine 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 sweet williams and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your sweet williams may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your sweet williams indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Palatine the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You should expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for Palatine and it will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Palatine you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your sweet williams in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Palatine

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 Palatine

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