One of the first steps you take when you are estimating 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.

One way of making a decision about when it's a good idea to plant napa valley fern is to refer to the USDA zone info for East Chicago.

Planting Calendar for Napa Valley Fern

Frost tolerance for napa valley fern:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost has passed.

Since napa valley fern do not do well in cold weather it is important to wait until after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant napa valley fern in East Chicago is April. However, you really should wait until May if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant napa valley fern and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your napa valley fern may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your napa valley fern indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in East Chicago. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for East Chicago is just an average and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in East Chicago there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to protect your napa valley fern if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for East 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 East Chicago

You may be interested in your other planting guides for East Chicago.