One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about your gardening schedule is find your 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.

One way of figuring out when to plant guara is to use the USDA zone info for Des Plaines.

Planting Calendar for Guara

Frost tolerance for guara:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After all chance of frost has passed.

You can not plant guara until after the last frost because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant guara in Des Plaines 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 guara and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your guara may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your guara indoors.

Last Frost Date

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

Remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Des Plaines and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Des Plaines you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your guara in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Des Plaines

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 Des Plaines

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Des Plaines.