When to Plant Rhubarb in River Grove, IL

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

It's possible to determine when it's a good idea to plant rhubarb by reviewing the USDA zone info for River Grove.


Planting Calendar for Rhubarb

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

Since rhubarb do well in moderate cold you can plant them a little earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

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

The earliest that you can plant rhubarb in River Grove 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your rhubarb may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your rhubarb indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in River Grove. You can expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for River Grove may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in River Grove you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your rhubarb if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for River Grove

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 River Grove

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