One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about your gardening schedule is find your 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.

You should be able to estimate when it's the best time to plant lavender by referring to the USDA zone info for Grayslake.

Planting Calendar for Lavender

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

Lavender do well in moderate cold which means that you can get them planted earlier than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant lavender in Grayslake 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 lavender and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your lavender may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your lavender 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 Grayslake. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Grayslake is an average and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Grayslake last frost occurs after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your lavender if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Grayslake

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 Grayslake

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