One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Valparaiso you can figure out when it's the best time to plant rhubarb by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Rhubarb

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

Since rhubarb do well in moderate cold you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant rhubarb in Valparaiso 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 rhubarb and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your rhubarb may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your rhubarb indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is March 15 in Valparaiso. It might get as low as 15°F during the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Valparaiso is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Valparaiso it frosts late in the year after March 15 so always be ready to protect your rhubarb in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Valparaiso

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	15°F
Highest Expected Low	20°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 20°F.

Plants to Grow in Valparaiso

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