When to Plant Asparagus Fern in Waukegan, IL

Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. 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 Waukegan can be used to estimate when it's possible to plant asparagus fern.


Planting Calendar for Asparagus Fern

Frost tolerance for asparagus fern: Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant: After the last frost has passed.

You really shouldn't plant asparagus fern until after the last frost has passed because they require warm weather.

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

The earliest that you can plant asparagus fern in Waukegan 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 asparagus fern and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your asparagus fern may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your asparagus fern indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Waukegan the average date of last frost happens on April 15. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Remember that USDA zone info for Waukegan is just an average and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Waukegan last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to cover your asparagus fern in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Waukegan

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 Waukegan

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