When to Plant Lettuce in Bloomingdale, IL

The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

The first chance to plant lettuce in Bloomingdale can be estimated by referring to the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Lettuce

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

You can plant lettuce a bit earlier in the year because they are one of those plants that can tolerate a little bit of cold weather.

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

The earliest that you can plant lettuce in Bloomingdale 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 lettuce and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your lettuce may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your lettuce indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on April 15 in Bloomingdale. You should expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Bloomingdale may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Bloomingdale last frost occurs after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your lettuce in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Bloomingdale

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 Bloomingdale

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