Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Des Plaines you can figure out when you can plant oregano by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Oregano

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

Since oregano are one of those plants that can tolerate a little bit of cold weather you can plant them a little bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant oregano 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 oregano and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your oregano may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your oregano indoors.

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for Des Plaines is just an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Des Plaines it frosts late in the year after April 15 be ready to cover your oregano 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.