One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

A way of determining when it's possible to plant iberis is to check out the USDA zone info for North Chicago.

Planting Calendar for Iberis

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

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

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

Last Frost Date

In North Chicago the average date of last frost happens on April 15. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for North Chicago is not always accurate the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in North Chicago there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to cover your iberis if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for North Chicago

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 North Chicago

You may be interested in your other planting guides for North Chicago.