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When to Plant Oleander in West Chicago, IL

One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out your gardening schedule is find your 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.

The best time to plant oleander in West Chicago should be figured out by referring to the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Oleander

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

It's probably not a good idea to plant oleander until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer because they are not cold tolerant.

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

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

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on April 15 in West Chicago. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for West Chicago and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in West Chicago you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your oleander if you have a surprise 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.