When to Plant Broccoli in Milan, IL

One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate 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.

By referring to the USDA zone info for Milan it's a good idea to estimate when you can plant broccoli.


Planting Calendar for Broccoli

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

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

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

The earliest that you can plant broccoli in Milan 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 broccoli and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your broccoli may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your broccoli 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 Milan. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Milan is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Milan last frost occurs after April 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your broccoli in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Milan

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 Milan

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