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When to Plant Matricaria in West Chicago, IL

One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The earliest that you can plant matricaria in West Chicago should be estimated by reviewing the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Matricaria

Frost tolerance for matricaria: Tolerant of some frost.
When to plant: Up to 5 weeks before last frost.

Since matricaria are one of those plants that can tolerate a little bit of cold weather you can plant them a little bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

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

The earliest that you can plant matricaria in West Chicago is February. However, you really should wait until March if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant matricaria and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your matricaria may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your matricaria indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In West Chicago the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for West Chicago and it will vary from year to year. Half of the time in West Chicago it frosts late in the year after April 15 so always be ready to cover your matricaria if you have one of those late frosts.

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.