The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By referring to the USDA zone info for West Chicago it's possible to figure out when you can plant cilantro.

Planting Calendar for Cilantro

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

You can plant cilantro slightly earlier in the year because they are one of those plants that can tolerate a tiny bit of cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant cilantro in West Chicago 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 cilantro and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your cilantro may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your cilantro indoors.

Last Frost Date

In West Chicago 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 West Chicago may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in West Chicago last frost occurs after April 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your cilantro in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for West Chicago

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 West Chicago

You may be interested in your other planting guides for West Chicago.