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.

A way of determining when to plant artichokes is to refer to the USDA zone info for Chelsea.

Planting Calendar for Artichokes

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

You can plant artichokes just a bit earlier in the year because they are one of those plants that can tolerate a little bit of cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant artichokes in Chelsea 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 artichokes and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your artichokes may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your artichokes indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on March 15 in Chelsea. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 10°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Chelsea 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 Chelsea there is a last frost after March 15 be ready to protect your artichokes in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Chelsea

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	10°F
Highest Expected Low	15°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 15°F.

Plants to Grow in Chelsea

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