Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. 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 making a decision about when it's a good idea to plant flax is to examine the USDA zone info for Rockford.

Planting Calendar for Flax

Frost tolerance for flax:	Tolerant of some frost.
When to plant:	Up to 5 weeks before last frost.

Flax can survive in some cold which tells us that you can plant them a little earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant flax in Rockford 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 flax and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your flax may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your flax indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Rockford the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Remember that USDA zone info for Rockford is an average and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Rockford it frosts late in the year after April 15 be ready to cover your flax if you have one of those late frosts.

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.