When to Plant Clover in Evanston, IL

Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out 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.

You can estimate when it's the best time to plant clover in Evanston by checking out the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Clover

Frost tolerance for clover: Tolerant of a very small amount of frost.
When to plant: Up to 3 weeks before last frost.

You can plant clover just a tiny bit earlier in the year because they do ok in moderate cold.

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

The earliest that you can plant clover in Evanston is March. However, you really should wait until April if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant clover and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your clover may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your clover indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Evanston the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You should expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Evanston may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Evanston it frosts late in the year after April 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your clover if you have one of those late frosts.

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.