When to Plant Spearmint in Markham, IL

Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate 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.

You should be able to figure out when you can plant spearmint by using the USDA zone info for Markham.


Planting Calendar for Spearmint

Frost tolerance for spearmint: Very tolerant of frost.
When to plant: Up to 7 weeks before last frost.

You can plant spearmint earlier in the year because they are one of those plants that can tolerate quite a bit of cold weather.

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

The earliest that you can plant spearmint in Markham 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 spearmint and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your spearmint may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your spearmint indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Markham is an average and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Markham it frosts late in the year after April 15 be ready to cover your spearmint if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Markham

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 Markham

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