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

In Normal you can figure out when it's possible to plant tarragon by using the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Tarragon

Frost tolerance for tarragon:	Tolerant of a very small amount of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 3 weeks before last frost.

Since tarragon do ok in moderate cold you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant tarragon in Normal is March. However, you really should wait until April if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant tarragon and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your tarragon may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your tarragon indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on April 15 in Normal. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Normal is an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Normal there is a last frost after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your tarragon if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Normal

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 Normal

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