Local planting guide · Midwest
zip 60643
Chicago is in USDA hardiness zone 6a, with average winter lows of -10°F to -5°F. The local growing season runs roughly 04/11 through 10/31 (~201 days). This zip falls within the Midwest growing region.
- USDA zone
- 6a -10°F to -5°F
- Last spring frost
- 04/11
- First fall frost
- 10/31
- Growing season
- 201 days
- Compatible crops
- 87
- Growing region
- Midwest
Right now in Chicago
Week 18 priorities
On the docket: transplant out after last frost · direct sow after last frost. See the full calendar →
Gardening in Chicago
Chicago sits in zone 6a, where winter lows reach -10 to -5°F and the growing season extends from mid-April through late October (201 days). This places the city firmly in stone-fruit and apple territory, though with important caveats about spring timing and summer humidity. The April 11 last frost date is typical for zone 6a, but Chicago springs are notoriously erratic; warm spells in March can trigger early budbreak, followed by a hard freeze in late April or early May that destroys flowers and fruit. Summer humidity creates significant disease pressure, particularly on stone fruits and cherries. Peaches, plums (both European and Japanese), and sweet cherries all thrive in the zone's chill, but they're less dependable than apples and pears, the true workhorses of the region. Sour cherry is nearly bulletproof and often overlooked. American persimmon also does well and adds diversity. With an October 31 first fall frost date, you have enough time for late-season crops and cold-hardy vegetables if you succession-plant in August.
Regional context · Midwest
What the Midwest brings to Chicago
Continental humid. Cold winters, hot humid summers. Heart of the country's vegetable, sweet corn, and cool-climate fruit production. Michigan and Wisconsin are major fruit states.
Common challenges
Issues that most often defeat home gardeners in zone 6a, drawn from the broader USDA zone profile.
- ▸ Brown rot in stone fruit
- ▸ Japanese beetles
- ▸ Spring frost damage to peach buds
What defeats new gardeners in Chicago
Late-spring freezes are the scourge of Chicago fruit gardening. Warm spells in March trigger early budbreak in stone fruits, then a hard freeze in late April or early May kills the flowers, wiping out that year's crop. This is a near-annual problem for peaches and Japanese plums. Fungal diseases thrive in Chicago's humid summers. Brown rot on stone fruits, leaf spot on cherries, and scab on apples are endemic. Sour cherry resists most of these, but it's the exception. Deer and vole populations in the Chicago area are substantial, and young trees often need fencing or trunk protection through the first few winters. Soil pH is another hidden issue: much of the region is neutral to slightly alkaline, which can lock up iron and cause chlorosis, particularly in clay soils near the lakefront.
Crops that grow in Chicago
87 crops from our catalog match zone 6a, grouped by type.
Tree fruit
12 crops
zone 6a Apple
Malus domestica
zones 3a–9a
zone 6a Pear
Pyrus communis
zones 4a–8b
zone 6a Peach
Prunus persica
zones 5a–9a
zone 6a European Plum
Prunus domestica
zones 4a–8a
zone 6a Japanese Plum
Prunus salicina
zones 5b–9a
zone 6a Sweet Cherry
Prunus avium
zones 5a–8a
zone 6a Sour Cherry
Prunus cerasus
zones 4a–7b
zone 6a American Persimmon
Diospyros virginiana
zones 4b–9a
Berries
20 crops
zone 6a Highbush Blueberry
Vaccinium corymbosum
zones 4a–7b
zone 6a Lowbush Blueberry
Vaccinium angustifolium
zones 3a–6b
zone 6a Red Raspberry
Rubus idaeus
zones 3b–8a
zone 6a Black Raspberry
Rubus occidentalis
zones 4a–8a
zone 6a Yellow Raspberry
Rubus idaeus
zones 3b–8a
zone 6a Blackberry
Rubus subgenus Rubus
zones 5a–9a
zone 6a June-Bearing Strawberry
Fragaria x ananassa
zones 3a–8b
zone 6a Everbearing Strawberry
Fragaria x ananassa
zones 3b–9a
Nuts
6 crops
Vegetables
40 crops
zone 6a Tomato
Solanum lycopersicum
zones 3a–10b
zone 6a Sweet Pepper
Capsicum annuum
zones 4a–10b
zone 6a Hot Pepper
Capsicum species
zones 4a–10b
zone 6a Eggplant
Solanum melongena
zones 5a–10b
zone 6a Potato
Solanum tuberosum
zones 3a–9a
zone 6a Cabbage
Brassica oleracea var. capitata
zones 3a–9b
zone 6a Broccoli
Brassica oleracea var. italica
zones 3a–9a
zone 6a Cauliflower
Brassica oleracea var. botrytis
zones 3b–9a
Herbs
9 crops
zone 6a Basil
Ocimum basilicum
zones 4a–10b
zone 6a Parsley
Petroselinum crispum
zones 3b–9b
zone 6a Cilantro / Coriander
Coriandrum sativum
zones 3b–9b
zone 6a Dill
Anethum graveolens
zones 3b–9a
zone 6a Oregano
Origanum vulgare
zones 4a–9b
zone 6a Thyme
Thymus vulgaris
zones 4a–9a
zone 6a Sage
Salvia officinalis
zones 4a–9a
zone 6a Mint
Mentha species
zones 3b–9b
Plan the year
Planting calendar for Chicago
Year-view of seed starting, transplanting, planting, pruning, fertilizing, harvest, and pest-watch windows tuned to Chicago's local frost dates.
Week ? · loading
This week in Chicago, IL (zone 6a)
Quiet week in Chicago, IL (zone 6a). this week is a good time to step back and plan ahead.
Nothing critical on the calendar this week.
434 bars · 87 crops
Calendar logic combines NOAA frost normals with crop-specific timing data. Local microclimate and weather always overrules the calendar; use this as a starting point.
Top pests for zone 6a
Ranked by how many crops in your zone they affect. Click through for IPM controls and signs to watch for.
Multiple species (Aphididae)
Small soft-bodied sap-sucking insects that reproduce explosively in spring. Excrete honeydew that supports sooty mold and attracts ants. Transmit viral diseases.
Odocoileus species
Whitetail and mule deer browse can devastate orchards and gardens, particularly in winter when food is scarce. Antler rub on young trunks kills saplings outright.
Multiple species
Robins, catbirds, mockingbirds, starlings, cedar waxwings and other songbirds can strip ripening berry and fruit crops in days. Crows and blackbirds also damage fresh sweet corn ears in milk stage. The single biggest yield-loss factor in unprotected home plantings.
Sylvilagus and Lepus species
Cottontails and jackrabbits strip bark from young fruit trees in winter and graze tender garden vegetables year-round, especially seedlings.
Popillia japonica
Defoliating beetle introduced to North America in 1916. Skeletonizes leaves of many fruit trees, berry canes, and pecan.
Multiple species (Chrysomelidae)
Tiny black or bronze jumping beetles that put hundreds of small holes in seedling leaves. Most damaging on direct-seeded brassicas and young eggplant.
Tetranychus urticae
Tiny mite that feeds on leaf undersides, causing stippling and webbing during hot dry weather.
Microtus species
Field voles and meadow voles girdle young fruit-tree trunks under snow cover during winter and chew root crops. The leading cause of mysterious orchard losses.
Top diseases for zone 6a
Ranked by how many crops in your zone they affect. Click through for symptoms, controls, and resistant varieties.
Botrytis cinerea
Ubiquitous fungal disease that causes fruit rot during cool wet weather, often the dominant berry disease in humid regions.
Pseudoperonospora cubensis (cucurbits) and others
Water mold (oomycete, not a true fungus) that thrives in cool damp conditions. Spreads rapidly through cucurbit and brassica plantings on wind-borne spores.
Pythium and Rhizoctonia species
Soil-borne complex of water molds and fungi that kill seedlings before or shortly after emergence. The single most common cause of seed-starting failures.
Cucumber mosaic virus, Tobacco mosaic virus, and others
Family of plant viruses producing mottled yellow-and-green leaf patterns. Vectored primarily by aphids; some are seed-transmitted or spread by handling tools and tobacco products.
Agrobacterium tumefaciens
Soil-borne bacterium that enters plants through wounds and induces tumor-like galls on roots, crown, and lower stems. Galls reduce vigor and shorten plant lifespan; on Rubus the disease is often fatal.
Fusarium oxysporum
Soil-borne fungal disease that plugs vascular tissue and kills affected plants. Persists in soil for many years; impossible to eliminate once established.
Sclerotium rolfsii
Soil-borne fungal disease most damaging in warm humid Southern conditions. White mycelial fans and small mustard-seed-sized sclerotia at the soil line are diagnostic.
Plasmodiophora brassicae
Soil-borne disease causing characteristic distorted club-shaped roots on brassicas. Persists in soil for 10-20 years; the dominant brassica pathogen in acidic poorly-drained soils.
Companion planting suggestions
Beneficial pairings drawn from companion data, filtered to crops that grow in zone 6a.
- Peach + Garlic
Garlic planted around peach trees suppresses peach borer and provides general fungal-pressure reduction.
- European Plum + Garlic
Garlic discourages plum curculio and provides general antifungal benefit beneath stone fruit.
- American Persimmon + Pawpaw
Both natives thrive in similar soils and contribute to a polyculture that supports native pollinators and fauna.
- Jujube + Thyme
Thyme groundcover suits jujube's low-water profile and deters cabbage moth and aphid populations.
- Apricot + Basil
Basil's volatile oils discourage stone-fruit pests and support pollinator visits.
- Highbush Blueberry + Thyme
Creeping thyme thrives in the acidic mulched conditions blueberries require and attracts pollinators during bloom.
Soil types reference
Soil texture and pH decide what grows easily on your specific lot. Find the closest match below for crop recommendations and amendment guidance.
Practical tips for Chicago
Delay spring certainty. April 11 is the average last frost, but a hard freeze in late April or early May is common. Don't transplant tender annuals or unpot frost-sensitive plants until mid-May. For stone fruits, choose late-blooming varieties; they're more likely to escape the final frost and set fruit.
Select disease-resistant stone fruits. If you grow peaches or plums, seek scab-resistant and brown-rot-resistant cultivars. Sour cherry is nearly bulletproof in this climate and produces reliably even in humid years.
Capitalize on the fall window. With an October 31 first frost date, you have nearly 200 days. Succession-plant cool-season crops in August and September for fall harvest. For fruit trees, the long season supports late-ripening apple varieties that might not finish in shorter growing zones.
Frequently asked questions
- What fruit trees grow best in Chicago?
Apples and pears are the safest bets for zone 6a and produce reliably here. Sour cherry is nearly bulletproof. Sweet cherry, peach, and plum all grow but are riskier due to late-frost damage in spring and disease pressure in humid summers. American persimmon is cold-hardy and often overlooked.
- When should I start tomatoes and peppers from seed?
With an April 11 last frost date, sow tomatoes and peppers indoors 6 to 8 weeks prior, around late February or early March. This gives seedlings time to develop strong root systems before transplanting outdoors in late May, after late-spring freeze risk (which often extends through mid-May in Chicago) has passed.
- Why do my peaches and plums fail to fruit some years?
Late-spring freezes are the primary culprit. Chicago often sees warm spells in March that trigger flowering, followed by a hard freeze in late April or early May that kills the flowers. Choose late-blooming varieties, or accept that some years will be poor. Brown rot and fungal diseases in humid summers also reduce fruit set if not managed.
- What's the biggest threat to young fruit trees in Chicago?
Deer and vole damage during winter is as significant as cold itself. Winter lows (-10 to -5°F) are manageable for most fruit trees, but voles girdle trunks under snow and deer browse young growth. Trunk guards or fencing are nearly essential through the first few winters.
- Can I grow fall vegetables in Chicago?
Absolutely. With an October 31 first frost date, you have about 6 months of growing season. Direct-seed cool-season crops like spinach, arugula, and mâche in mid-August for fall and early-winter harvest. Garlic planted in late October overwinters and emerges in spring for a June harvest.
- When is the best time to prune fruit trees here?
Prune in late winter, typically February or early March, before buds break. This avoids opening fresh cuts to harsh February-March freezes and gives you time to assess winter damage. Avoid fall pruning, which stimulates tender growth that will die back in winter.
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Frost data: NOAA Climate Normals 1991-2020, station USW00014819. Local microclimates can shift these dates by a week or more.
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