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.

The first opportunity to plant begonias in Northbrook should be determined by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Begonias

Frost tolerance for begonias:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After all chance of frost has passed.

Since begonias require warm weather it is important to wait until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant begonias in Northbrook 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 begonias and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your begonias may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your begonias indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for Northbrook is an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Northbrook there is a last frost after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your begonias if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Northbrook

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 Northbrook

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