When to Plant Sorrel in Downers Grove, IL

Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

You will be able to determine when to plant sorrel by referring to the USDA zone info for Downers Grove.


Planting Calendar for Sorrel

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

Since sorrel are moderately cold tolerant you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

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

The earliest that you can plant sorrel in Downers Grove 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 sorrel and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your sorrel may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your sorrel indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Downers Grove 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 Downers Grove is an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Downers Grove you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your sorrel if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Downers Grove

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 Downers Grove

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Downers Grove.