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 common way of making a decision about when to plant chicory is to consult the USDA zone info for Gainesville.

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 moderate cold which means that you can start planting them earlier than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant chicory in Gainesville 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. Any later than that and your chicory may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your chicory indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Gainesville. You should expect an average low temperature of 5°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Gainesville is not always accurate the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Gainesville it frosts late in the year after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your chicory if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Gainesville

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	5°F
Highest Expected Low	10°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 5°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 10°F.

Plants to Grow in Gainesville

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