When to Plant Nicotiana in West Chicago, IL

Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

The best time to plant nicotiana in West Chicago can be figured out by using the USDA zone info.

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Planting Calendar for Nicotiana

Frost tolerance for nicotiana: Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant: After the last frost.

Since nicotiana are not cold tolerant it is important to wait until after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

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

The earliest that you can plant nicotiana in West Chicago 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 nicotiana and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your nicotiana may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your nicotiana indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on April 15 in West Chicago. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Since the USDA zone info for West Chicago is just an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in West Chicago there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to protect your nicotiana in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for West Chicago

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 West Chicago

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