When to Plant Endive in Geneva, IL

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

The first opportunity to plant endive in Geneva can be estimated by using the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Endive

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

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

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

The earliest that you can plant endive in Geneva 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 endive and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your endive may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your endive indoors.

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for Geneva is not always accurate the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Geneva last frost occurs after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your endive if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Geneva

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 Geneva

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