When to Plant Bok Choi in Decatur, IL

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

The first opportunity to plant bok choi in Decatur should be estimated by looking at the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Bok Choi

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

Since bok choi are moderately cold tolerant you can plant them just a bit earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

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

The earliest that you can plant bok choi in Decatur 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 bok choi and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your bok choi may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your bok choi 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 Decatur. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Decatur and it is different every year. Half of the time in Decatur you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so always be ready to cover your bok choi in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Decatur

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 Decatur

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