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.

The USDA zone info for Skokie can be reviewed to estimate when it's possible to plant bishop's weed.

Planting Calendar for Bishop's Weed

Frost tolerance for bishop's weed:	Very tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 7 weeks before last frost.

Since bishop's weed are very cold tolerant you can plant them quite a bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant bishop's weed in Skokie 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 bishop's weed and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your bishop's weed may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your bishop's weed indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Skokie. You should expect an average low temperature of -10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Skokie is just an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Skokie you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your bishop's weed in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Skokie

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 Skokie

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