Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

You should be able to estimate when it's the best time to plant endive by using the USDA zone info for Madison.

Planting Calendar for Endive

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

You can plant endive a little earlier in the year because they are moderately cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant endive in Madison 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 endive and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your endive may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your endive indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on April 15 in Madison. You can expect an average low temperature of 5°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Madison may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Madison you get a frost after April 15 be ready to protect your endive if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Madison

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	5°F
Highest Expected Low	10°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 5°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 10°F.

Plants to Grow in Madison

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