One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for Hugo should be reffered to in order to estimate when it's a good idea to plant artichokes.

Planting Calendar for Artichokes

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

Since artichokes do well in moderate cold you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant artichokes in Hugo is March. However, you really should wait until April if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant artichokes and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your artichokes may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your artichokes indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on May 15 in Hugo. It might get as low as -25°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Hugo is just an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Hugo you get surprised by a frost after May 15 be ready to protect your artichokes if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Hugo

Here is the info for USDA Zone 4b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	September 15
Lowest Expected Low	-25°F
Highest Expected Low	-20°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -25°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -20°F.

Plants to Grow in Hugo

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