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

By reviewing the USDA zone info for Florence you should be able to determine when to plant chicory.

Planting Calendar for Chicory

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

Chicory do ok in mild cold which means that you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant chicory in Florence 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 chicory and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your chicory may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your chicory indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Florence. You can expect an average low temperature of 5°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Florence is an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Florence you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your chicory in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Florence

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 Florence

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