One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out your gardening schedule is find your 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 looking at the USDA zone info for Naperville it's possible to figure out when you can plant parsnip.

Planting Calendar for Parsnip

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

Since parsnip are moderately cold tolerant you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant parsnip in Naperville 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 parsnip and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your parsnip may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your parsnip indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on April 15 in Naperville. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Naperville is just an average and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Naperville you get a frost after April 15 be ready to protect your parsnip in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Naperville

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 Naperville

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