One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for Oak Brook should be looked at to figure out when it's possible to plant black pepper.

Planting Calendar for Black pepper

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

Since black pepper require warm weather it is necessary to wait until after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant black pepper in Oak Brook 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 black pepper and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your black pepper may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your black pepper indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Oak Brook. You should expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Remember that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Oak Brook and it will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Oak Brook you get a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your black pepper if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Oak Brook

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 Oak Brook

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Oak Brook.