One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate 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 figuring out when it's a good idea to plant romanesco is to check out the USDA zone info for River Grove.

Planting Calendar for Romanesco

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

Since romanesco are moderately cold tolerant you can plant them just a bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant romanesco 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 romanesco and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your romanesco may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your romanesco indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In River Grove the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Since the USDA zone info for River Grove is just an average the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in River Grove you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your romanesco in the event of a surprise late frost.

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.