Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The best time to plant sweet williams in North Chicago should be figured out by using the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Sweet Williams

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

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

The earliest that you can plant sweet williams 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 sweet williams and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your sweet williams may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your sweet williams indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on April 15 in North Chicago. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for North Chicago may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in North Chicago you get a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your sweet williams in the event of a surprise 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.