Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The earliest that you can plant amaranthus in Rockford should be figured out by using the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Amaranthus

Frost tolerance for amaranthus:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost when the weather gets warmer.

Since amaranthus do not do well in cold weather you really should wait until after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant amaranthus in Rockford 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 amaranthus and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your amaranthus may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your amaranthus indoors.

Last Frost Date

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

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Rockford and it will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Rockford last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to protect your amaranthus in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Rockford

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 Rockford

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