The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Chicago Ridge you can estimate when it's the best time to plant strawberries by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Strawberries

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

Since strawberries are very cold tolerant you can plant them quite a bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant strawberries in Chicago Ridge 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 strawberries and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your strawberries may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your strawberries indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Chicago Ridge. It might get as low as -10°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Chicago Ridge may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Chicago Ridge it frosts late in the year after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your strawberries in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Chicago Ridge

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6a.

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

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

Plants to Grow in Chicago Ridge

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Chicago Ridge.