When to Plant Stevia in Harvard, IL

The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us figure out 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.

The earliest that you can plant stevia in Harvard can be estimated by referring to the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Stevia

Frost tolerance for stevia: Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant: After all chance of frost has passed.

It's a bad idea to plant stevia until after the last frost because they are not cold tolerant.

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

The earliest that you can plant stevia in Harvard 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 stevia and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your stevia may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your stevia indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Harvard. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Harvard is just an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Harvard it frosts late in the year after April 15 be ready to protect your stevia if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Harvard

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 Harvard

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