Wheaton, IL 60599 Frost Dates
When can you plant in Wheaton, IL?
Typically, the last spring freeze lands around 04/27, roughly 242 days out. The first fall frost typically arrives around 10/17, about 173 frost-free days later.
The USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Wheaton in Zone 5b (-15 to -10°F average annual minimum); frost dates are NOAA's 1991-2020 station normal, not this year's forecast.
What to do before the first frost
About 7 weeks of growing season left in Wheaton before the first fall frost — a cold frame or row cover can stretch harvest weeks past that date.
How much risk comes with planting early here
04/27 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 04/12 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 05/14 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.
How Wheaton compares
At roughly 173 frost-free days, Wheaton places 27,767 of 40,283 ZIP codes in this dataset. Within IL, it ranks 1,299 of 1,548.
Learn more
zone vs. frost date covers why Zone 5b and Wheaton's frost date answer different questions. the frost range covers how to read the range around Wheaton's dates instead of trusting one.