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

A common way of making a decision about when you can plant leeks is to examine the USDA zone info for Melrose Park.

Planting Calendar for Leeks

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

You can plant leeks a lot earlier in the year because they are very cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant leeks in Melrose Park 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 leeks and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your leeks may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your leeks indoors.

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for Melrose Park is an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Melrose Park it frosts late in the year after April 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your leeks in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Melrose Park

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 Melrose Park

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Melrose Park.