When to Plant Ruby Grass in Oak Forest, IL

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

By looking at the USDA zone info for Oak Forest you should be able to figure out when you can plant ruby grass.


Planting Calendar for Ruby Grass

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

Since ruby grass are barely cold tolerant you can plant them just a tiny bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

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

The earliest that you can plant ruby grass 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 ruby grass and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your ruby grass may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your ruby grass indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on April 15 in Oak Forest. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Oak Forest is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Oak Forest last frost occurs after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your ruby grass if you have one of those late frosts.

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.