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 common way of figuring out when you can plant artichokes is to refer to the USDA zone info for Commerce City.

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 a little bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant artichokes in Commerce City 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 artichokes and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your artichokes may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your artichokes indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Commerce City. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Remember that USDA zone info for Commerce City may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Commerce City you get a frost after April 15 be ready to protect your artichokes if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Commerce City

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 Commerce City

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Commerce City.