One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for Evanston should be reviewed to estimate when it's the best time to plant sorrel.

Planting Calendar for Sorrel

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

Sorrel can survive in a little bit of cold which tells us that you can plant them a little bit earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

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

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Evanston. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -20°F.

Remember that USDA zone info for Evanston is an average and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Evanston you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your sorrel in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Evanston

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-20°F
Highest Expected Low	-15°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -15°F.

Plants to Grow in Evanston

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