The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The first chance to plant nicotiana in Rockford should be determined by reviewing the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Nicotiana

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

You should not plant nicotiana until after the last frost has passed because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant nicotiana 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 nicotiana and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your nicotiana may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your nicotiana indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Rockford is just an average and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Rockford last frost occurs after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your nicotiana 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.