When to Plant Iresene in Sterling, IL

The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

It's a good idea to figure out when it's possible to plant iresene by checking out the USDA zone info for Sterling.


Planting Calendar for Iresene

Frost tolerance for iresene: Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant: After all chance of frost has passed.

Iresene require warm weather which means that it's important to wait until it warms up after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

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

The earliest that you can plant iresene in Sterling 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 iresene and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your iresene may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your iresene indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on April 15 in Sterling. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Sterling is just an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Sterling there is a last frost after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your iresene in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Sterling

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 Sterling

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