When to Plant Leeks in Morton, IL

The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

You can determine when it's a good idea to plant leeks in Morton by using the USDA zone info.


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 much earlier in the year because they do well in cold.

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

The earliest that you can plant leeks in Morton 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 little bit earlier by starting your leeks indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on April 15 in Morton. You can expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Morton and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Morton there is a last frost after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your leeks in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Morton

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 Morton

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