One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule is the 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 determining when you can plant spearmint is to examine the USDA zone info for Elmhurst.

Planting Calendar for Spearmint

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

Spearmint are one of those plants that can tolerate quite a bit of cold weather which tells us that you can plant them much earlier than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant spearmint 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 spearmint and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your spearmint may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your spearmint indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for Elmhurst is just an average the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Elmhurst there is a last frost after April 15 so always be ready to cover your spearmint in the event of a surprise late frost.

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.