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 getting a good idea when it's possible to plant artichokes is to use the USDA zone info for Fortuna.

Planting Calendar for Artichokes

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

Artichokes are one of those plants that can tolerate a little bit of cold weather which tells us that you can plant them earlier than other frost tender plants.

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

The last month that you can plant artichokes and expect a good harvest is probably October. 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 few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on February 15 in Fortuna. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 25°F.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Fortuna may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Fortuna you get surprised by a frost after February 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your artichokes in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Fortuna

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	25°F
Highest Expected Low	30°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 30°F.

Plants to Grow in Fortuna

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