When to Plant Rhubarb in Libertyville, IL

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.

In Libertyville you can determine when it's a good idea to plant rhubarb by checking out the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Rhubarb

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

You can plant rhubarb a little earlier in the year because they are moderately cold tolerant.

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

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

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for Libertyville is an average the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Libertyville last frost occurs after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your rhubarb if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Libertyville

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 Libertyville

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