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When to plant / Illinois

When to plant lettuce in Illinois

The planting chart is divided into Northern Illinois, Central Illinois, and Southern Illinois. Median dates for the last 32-degree freeze on the same page: Northern Illinois April 8-29; Central Illinois April 8-15; Southern Illinois April 1-8. The page also says southern Illinois can generally start crops two weeks earlier than central Illinois and northern Illinois about two weeks later; the crop rows below are the chart dates, not a recalculation of that sentence.

Source: University of Illinois Extension, When to Plant, retrieved 2026-10-10.

How this page reads that source: Illinois Fruit and Vegetable Planting Dates chart: north: April 15 to May 15, July 15 to Sept. 15; central: April 1 to 30, July 1 to Aug. 31; south: March 15 to April 15, June 15 to Aug. 15.

North

  • April 15 to May 15 (April 15–May 15).
  • July 15 to Sept. 15 (July 15–September 15).

Central

  • April 1 to 30 (April 1–April 30).
  • July 1 to Aug. 31 (July 1–August 31).

South

  • March 15 to April 15 (March 15–April 15).
  • June 15 to Aug. 15 (June 15–August 15).

City frost pages in Illinois are listed on Illinois.