One of the first steps you take when you are determining your gardening schedule is find your 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.

In Palatine you can determine when it's a good idea to plant lovage by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Lovage

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

Lovage can survive in some cold which tells us that you can plant them just a tiny bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

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

Last Frost Date

In Palatine the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You should expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Palatine and it is different every year. Half of the time in Palatine you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your lovage in the event of a surprise 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.