When to Plant Cauliflower in Evanston, IL

The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Evanston you can figure out when it's possible to plant cauliflower by reviewing the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Cauliflower

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

Cauliflower do ok in mild cold which means that you can plant them a little earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

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

The earliest that you can plant cauliflower in Evanston 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 cauliflower and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your cauliflower may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your cauliflower indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on April 15 in Evanston. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Evanston may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Evanston you get a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your cauliflower if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Evanston

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 Evanston

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