One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

A way of getting a good idea when it's the best time to plant artichokes is to check out the USDA zone info for Quitman.

Planting Calendar for Artichokes

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

Artichokes do ok in mild cold which tells us that you can plant them just a bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant artichokes in Quitman 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. If you wait any later than that and 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 March 15 in Quitman. It might get as low as 15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Quitman and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Quitman it frosts late in the year after March 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your artichokes if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Quitman

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	15°F
Highest Expected Low	20°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 20°F.

Plants to Grow in Quitman

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