One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine 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.

By looking at the USDA zone info for Wellington you should be able to estimate when it's the best time to plant artichokes.

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 moderately cold tolerant 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 artichokes in Wellington 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 really do well. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your artichokes indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Wellington. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Wellington and it changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Wellington there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to protect your artichokes if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Wellington

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 Wellington

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