When to Plant Lemon grass in Waterloo, IL

One of the first steps you take when you are determining your gardening schedule is find your 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.

It's possible to estimate when it's the best time to plant lemon grass by referring to the USDA zone info for Waterloo.


Planting Calendar for Lemon grass

Frost tolerance for lemon grass: Tolerant of a very small amount of frost.
When to plant: Up to 3 weeks before last frost.

Since lemon grass are barely cold tolerant you can plant them slightly earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

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

The earliest that you can plant lemon grass in Waterloo is March. However, you really should wait until April if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant lemon grass and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your lemon grass may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your lemon grass indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Waterloo. It might get as low as -5°F during the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Waterloo may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Waterloo you get a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your lemon grass if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Waterloo

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low-5°F
Highest Expected Low0°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 0°F.

Plants to Grow in Waterloo

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