When to Plant Bell Peppers in Braidwood, IL

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

By checking out the USDA zone info for Braidwood it's possible to estimate when it's the best time to plant bell peppers.


Planting Calendar for Bell Peppers

Frost tolerance for bell peppers: Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant: After the last frost has passed.

Bell Peppers require warm weather which tells us that you have to wait until it warms up after the last frost before you can plant them.

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

The earliest that you can plant bell peppers in Braidwood 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 bell peppers and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your bell peppers may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your bell peppers indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Braidwood may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Braidwood it frosts late in the year after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your bell peppers if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Braidwood

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 Braidwood

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