One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule is the 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.

You should be able to determine when to plant strawberries by referring to the USDA zone info for Wheeling.

Planting Calendar for Strawberries

Frost tolerance for strawberries:	Very tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 7 weeks before last frost.

Strawberries do ok in cold weather which tells us that you can plant them a lot earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

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

Last Frost Date

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

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Wheeling may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Wheeling it frosts late in the year after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your strawberries if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Wheeling

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 Wheeling

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