One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine 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.

In Decatur you can estimate when it's possible to plant romaine lettuce by reviewing the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Romaine lettuce

Frost tolerance for romaine lettuce:	Very tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 7 weeks before last frost.

Since romaine lettuce are very cold tolerant you can plant them much earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

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

Last Frost Date

In Decatur the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You should expect an average low temperature of 5°F in the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Decatur may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Decatur you get a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your romaine lettuce if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Decatur

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	5°F
Highest Expected Low	10°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 5°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 10°F.

Plants to Grow in Decatur

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