When to Plant Zucchini in University Park, IL

One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

One way of figuring out when it's the best time to plant zucchini is to refer to the USDA zone info for University Park.


Planting Calendar for Zucchini

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

Since zucchini do not do well in cold weather it's necessary to wait until after the last frost before you can plant them.

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

The earliest that you can plant zucchini in University Park 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 zucchini and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your zucchini may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your zucchini indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on April 15 in University Park. You can expect an average low temperature of 5°F in the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for University Park is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in University Park there is a last frost after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your zucchini in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for University Park

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low5°F
Highest Expected Low10°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 5°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 10°F.

Plants to Grow in University Park

You may be interested in your other planting guides for University Park.