When to Plant Zucchini in Joliet, IL

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

You can figure out when you can plant zucchini in Joliet by checking out the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Zucchini

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

You really shouldn't plant zucchini until after all chance of frost has passed because they require warm weather.

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

The earliest that you can plant zucchini in Joliet 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 zucchini and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your zucchini may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your zucchini indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on April 15 in Joliet. You should expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Joliet is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Joliet last frost occurs after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your zucchini in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Joliet

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 Joliet

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