One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

A way of getting a good idea when it's a good idea to plant iberis is to look at the USDA zone info for Palatine.

Planting Calendar for Iberis

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

Iberis do ok in some cold which means that you can plant them just a bit earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant iberis in Palatine 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 iberis and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your iberis may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your iberis indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on April 15 in Palatine. You can expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Palatine 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 Palatine you get a frost after April 15 be ready to protect your iberis if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Palatine

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 Palatine

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