One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

One way of getting a good idea when to plant rhubarb is to refer to the USDA zone info for Palos Park.

Planting Calendar for Rhubarb

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

Rhubarb do ok in some cold which means that you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant rhubarb in Palos Park 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 rhubarb and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your rhubarb may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your rhubarb indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on April 15 in Palos Park. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Palos Park is not always accurate the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Palos Park there is a last frost after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your rhubarb in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Palos Park

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 Palos Park

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Palos Park.