When to Plant Red cabbage in Wilmette, IL

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

The first opportunity to plant red cabbage in Wilmette can be determined by reviewing the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Red cabbage

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

You can plant red cabbage much earlier in the year because they are one of those plants that can tolerate quite a bit of cold weather.

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

The earliest that you can plant red cabbage in Wilmette 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 red cabbage and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your red cabbage may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your red cabbage indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Wilmette 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 Wilmette is an average and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Wilmette last frost occurs after April 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your red cabbage if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Wilmette

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 Wilmette

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