One of the first steps you take when you are determining your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for Clearlake should be read to figure out when it's a good idea 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 well in moderate cold which tells us that you can start planting them earlier than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant chicory in Clearlake 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. Any later than that and your chicory may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your chicory indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on March 15 in Clearlake. You should expect an average low temperature of 15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Clearlake is just an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Clearlake it frosts late in the year after March 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your chicory if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Clearlake

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	15°F
Highest Expected Low	20°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 20°F.

Plants to Grow in Clearlake

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