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 figuring out when it's possible to plant amaranthus is to consult the USDA zone info for Gurnee.

Planting Calendar for Amaranthus

Frost tolerance for amaranthus:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost when the weather gets warmer.

You really shouldn't plant amaranthus until after the last frost has passed because they are not cold tolerant.

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

The last month that you can plant amaranthus and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your amaranthus may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your amaranthus indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Gurnee. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Gurnee may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Gurnee it frosts late in the year after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your amaranthus in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Gurnee

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 Gurnee

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