When to Plant Brussels Sprouts in Elmhurst, IL

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

By using the USDA zone info for Elmhurst it's a good idea to determine when it's a good idea to plant brussels sprouts.


Planting Calendar for Brussels Sprouts

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

Since brussels sprouts 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 plants that might not handle the cold.

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

The earliest that you can plant brussels sprouts in Elmhurst 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 brussels sprouts and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your brussels sprouts may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your brussels sprouts indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on April 15 in Elmhurst. You can expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Elmhurst is an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Elmhurst there is a last frost after April 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your brussels sprouts if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Elmhurst

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 Elmhurst

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