When to Plant Corn in River Forest, IL

One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate 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.

In River Forest you can determine when to plant corn by reviewing the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Corn

Frost tolerance for corn: Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant: After the last frost when the weather gets warmer.

Corn do not do well in cold weather which means that you must wait until it warms up after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

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

The earliest that you can plant corn in River Forest is April. However, you really should wait until May if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant corn and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your corn may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your corn indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on April 15 in River Forest. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -10°F.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for River Forest may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in River Forest it frosts late in the year after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your corn if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for River Forest

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low-10°F
Highest Expected Low-5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -5°F.

Plants to Grow in River Forest

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