Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Lombard you can figure out when it's a good idea to plant banana by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Banana

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

It's probably not a good idea to plant banana until after the last frost because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant banana in Lombard 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 banana and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your banana may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your banana indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for Lombard may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Lombard you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to protect your banana if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Lombard

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 Lombard

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