Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

A way of determining when it's a good idea to plant artichokes is to refer to the USDA zone info for San Juan Capistrano.

Planting Calendar for Artichokes

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

Since artichokes are one of those plants that can tolerate a little bit of cold weather you can plant them just a bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant artichokes in San Juan Capistrano 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. If you wait any later than that and your artichokes may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your artichokes indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is January 31 in San Juan Capistrano. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 30°F.

Since the USDA zone info for San Juan Capistrano is an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in San Juan Capistrano you get surprised by a frost after January 31 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your artichokes in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for San Juan Capistrano

Here is the info for USDA Zone 10a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	January 31
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	30°F
Highest Expected Low	35°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 30°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 35°F.

Plants to Grow in San Juan Capistrano

You may be interested in your other planting guides for San Juan Capistrano.