When to Plant Napa Valley Fern in Bloomington, IL

Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for Bloomington should be looked at to determine when it's the best time to plant napa valley fern.


Planting Calendar for Napa Valley Fern

Frost tolerance for napa valley fern: Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant: After the last frost when the weather gets warmer.

It's not a good idea to plant napa valley fern until after the last frost because they do not do well in cold weather.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant napa valley fern
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant napa valley fern
Probably not a good time to plant napa valley fern

The earliest that you can plant napa valley fern in Bloomington 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 napa valley fern and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your napa valley fern may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your napa valley fern indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Bloomington. You should expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Bloomington and it is different every year. Since half of the time in Bloomington it frosts late in the year after April 15 be ready to cover your napa valley fern in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Bloomington

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 Bloomington

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