When to Plant Cauliflower in Arlington Heights, IL

One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Arlington Heights you can figure out when it's a good idea to plant cauliflower by referring to the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Cauliflower

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

Cauliflower do well in moderate cold which tells us that you can plant them a little earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

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

The earliest that you can plant cauliflower in Arlington Heights 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 cauliflower and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your cauliflower may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your cauliflower indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Arlington Heights. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Arlington Heights and it changes from year to year. Half of the time in Arlington Heights it frosts late in the year after April 15 so always be ready to cover your cauliflower if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Arlington Heights

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 Arlington Heights

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Arlington Heights.