One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the 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.

A way of estimating when it's a good idea to plant chicory is to check out the USDA zone info for Aspen.

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 frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant chicory in Aspen 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. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your chicory indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on April 15 in Aspen. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Aspen may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Aspen you get a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your chicory in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Aspen

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-15°F
Highest Expected Low	-10°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 -10°F.

Plants to Grow in Aspen

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