One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule is the 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.

The USDA zone info for Rockford should be used to estimate when it's the best time to plant rosemary.

Planting Calendar for Rosemary

Frost tolerance for rosemary:	Very tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 7 weeks before last frost.

Since rosemary are very cold tolerant you can plant them a lot earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant rosemary 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 rosemary and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your rosemary may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your rosemary indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on April 15 in Rockford. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Rockford may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Rockford you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your rosemary 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.