One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about 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.

A way of estimating when it's a good idea to plant romanesco is to examine the USDA zone info for West Chicago.

Planting Calendar for Romanesco

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

Since romanesco do well in moderate cold you can plant them a little earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant romanesco 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 romanesco and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your romanesco may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your romanesco 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. You can expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for West Chicago may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in West Chicago there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to cover your romanesco if you have a 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.