One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about your gardening schedule is find your 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.

By referring to the USDA zone info for Cicero you should be able to determine when it's the best time to plant leeks.

Planting Calendar for Leeks

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

You can plant leeks earlier in the year because they are very cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant leeks in Cicero 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 leeks and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your leeks may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your leeks indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on April 15 in Cicero. You can expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Cicero is just an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Cicero it frosts late in the year after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your leeks in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Cicero

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 Cicero

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