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 consult the USDA zone info for Riverdale.

Planting Calendar for Artichokes

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

You can plant artichokes a bit earlier in the year because they do well in moderate cold.

The earliest that you can plant artichokes in Riverdale 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 grow to maturity. If you are starting your artichokes indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on March 15 in Riverdale. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 10°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Riverdale is an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Riverdale it frosts late in the year after March 15 so always be ready to protect your artichokes if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Riverdale

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	10°F
Highest Expected Low	15°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 15°F.

Plants to Grow in Riverdale

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