Cicero, Illinois, United States
Planting calendar for Cicero
Worked out from 30 years of daily minimum temperatures for this location — not from a zone map, and not from the nearest big city. Move the dial to change how much frost risk you are willing to carry, and every date on the page re-times itself.
Last spring frost
4 April
Frost has finished by this date in 1 year in 2.
First autumn frost
17 November
Bring tender crops in before this date.
Frost-free season
227 days
Long season
The average last frost. Half of all years are later than this.
Sow this week in Cicero
Windows that are open today, 25 September. The ones marked in amber are closing within a fortnight.
Sow this week in Cicero
Windows that are open today, 25 September. The ones marked in amber are closing within a fortnight.
Opening soon
Sow this week in Cicero
Windows that are open today, 25 September. The ones marked in amber are closing within a fortnight.
Opening soon
The growing year in Cicero
307 crops, timed to the dates above
Each bar is a model window, not a deadline. Windows for crops needing a winter suitability check are conditional; open the crop page before planting. Unverified flowering and harvest predictions are withheld. Tap or hover a bar for its dates, or follow a crop name for the full timing and a harvest estimate. The blue wash is the measured weekly chance of frost across the whole record. There is also a printable one-page version of this calendar for the shed wall.
The climate behind these dates
Mean monthly temperature across the record. Months shown in blue average at least one air frost.
Nearby
Frost dates close to Cicero
Similar climate
Places that garden like Cicero
Matched on frost dates and season length rather than on distance, which is often more useful: advice written for one of these places usually transfers.
Questions about frost in Cicero
When is the last frost in Cicero?
The median last spring frost in Cicero falls on 4 April. In one year in ten frost continues as late as 17 April, so if you cannot protect tender plants, 17 April is the safer date to work to.
When is the first frost in Cicero?
The median first autumn frost in Cicero falls on 17 November, though in one year in ten it arrives by 3 November. Tender crops should be harvested before that earlier date.
How long is the growing season in Cicero?
About 227 frost-free days on a median year - long by world standards. Taking the cautious view at both ends, plan for roughly 200 dependable days.
What hardiness zone is Cicero in?
Cicero sits in USDA-equivalent zone 7a, based on a mean annual extreme minimum of -16.3°C (2.8°F). Perennials rated to this zone or lower should survive an average winter here.
Can I trust these dates exactly?
They are statistics, not forecasts. They describe what happened across 30 years of records at this location and say nothing about this particular spring. Frost is also intensely local: a low-lying or exposed garden can run a week behind the figures on this page.
Seasonal context
Rainfall and the growing season in Cicero
May has the highest average precipitation (119 mm); January has the lowest (47 mm). Compare this pattern with the planting windows and your water supply.
During wetter months, check that beds and containers drain after heavy rain. During drier months, plan how you will keep seeds and new transplants watered. Monthly averages can hide long dry spells and intense storms; they do not show soil moisture, humidity or this week's weather.
Source: NASA POWER, corrected MERRA-2 precipitation, 2001–2020. Values are approximate monthly totals, including the water equivalent of snow, from the nearest 0.5° × 0.625° grid cell. This reference period differs from the temperature record. Rainfall provides context and does not change the calculated planting dates. Method and limitations.