When to Plant Endive in Council Bluffs, IA

One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out your gardening schedule is find your 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 using the USDA zone info for Council Bluffs it's a good idea to figure out when it's the best time to plant endive.


Planting Calendar for Endive

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

Endive tend to make it in mild cold which means that you can plant them a little bit earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant endive
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant endive
Probably not a good time to plant endive

The earliest that you can plant endive in Council Bluffs 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 endive and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your endive may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your endive indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Council Bluffs the average date of last frost happens on April 15. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Council Bluffs is an average and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Council Bluffs it frosts late in the year after April 15 be ready to protect your endive in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Council Bluffs

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 Council Bluffs

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Council Bluffs.