When to Plant Clover in Oak Forest, IL

Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

It's possible to determine when it's a good idea to plant clover by referring to the USDA zone info for Oak Forest.


Planting Calendar for Clover

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

Since clover are one of those plants that can tolerate a tiny bit of cold weather you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant clover
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant clover
Probably not a good time to plant clover

The earliest that you can plant clover in Oak Forest 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 clover and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your clover may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your clover indoors.

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for Oak Forest may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Oak Forest there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to cover your clover if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Oak Forest

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 Forest

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