One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea 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.

You can figure out when you can plant napa cabbage in Des Plaines by reviewing the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Napa cabbage

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

You can plant napa cabbage much earlier in the year because they are one of those plants that can tolerate quite a bit of cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant napa cabbage in Des Plaines 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 napa cabbage and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your napa cabbage may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your napa cabbage indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Des Plaines the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Des Plaines is just an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Des Plaines it frosts late in the year after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your napa cabbage in the event of a surprise late frost.

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.