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

A common way of getting a good idea when you can plant lemon grass is to consult the USDA zone info for Niles.

Planting Calendar for Lemon grass

Frost tolerance for lemon grass:	Tolerant of a very small amount of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 3 weeks before last frost.

Lemon grass are barely cold tolerant which means that you can plant them slightly earlier than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant lemon grass in Niles is March. However, you really should wait until April if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant lemon grass and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your lemon grass may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your lemon grass indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on April 15 in Niles. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Niles is an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Niles you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your lemon grass in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Niles

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 Niles

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