The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule. 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 Needles should be reffered to in order to estimate when you can 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 some cold which means that you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant chicory in Needles 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 chicory and expect a good harvest is probably October. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your chicory may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your chicory indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is February 15 in Needles. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 25°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Needles is an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Needles you get a frost after February 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your chicory in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Needles

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 Needles

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