One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The earliest that you can plant stevia in Rochelle can be determined by using the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Stevia

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

Stevia require warm weather which tells us that you need to wait until it warms up after the last frost before you can plant them.

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

Last Frost Date

In Rochelle the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You can expect an average low temperature of -20°F in the coldest months of winter.

Remember that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Rochelle and it will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Rochelle you get a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your stevia in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Rochelle

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-20°F
Highest Expected Low	-15°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -15°F.

Plants to Grow in Rochelle

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Rochelle.