When to Plant Banana in Marengo, IL

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.

By using the USDA zone info for Marengo it's a good idea to figure out when it's possible to plant banana.


Planting Calendar for Banana

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

You can not plant banana until after all chance of frost has passed because they require warm weather.

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

The earliest that you can plant banana in Marengo 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 fully mature. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your banana indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Marengo the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Marengo is an average the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Marengo you get a frost after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your banana in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Marengo

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 Marengo

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