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

It's possible to estimate when you can plant banana by looking at the USDA zone info for New Lenox.

Planting Calendar for Banana

Frost tolerance for banana:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost has passed.

It's a bad idea to plant banana until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant banana in New Lenox is April. However, you really should wait until May if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant banana and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your banana may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your banana indoors.

Last Frost Date

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

Remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for New Lenox and it changes from year to year. Half of the time in New Lenox there is a last frost after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your banana in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for New Lenox

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 New Lenox

You may be interested in your other planting guides for New Lenox.