Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate 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.

You will be able to estimate when it's the best time to plant artichokes by referring to the USDA zone info for East Peoria.

Planting Calendar for Artichokes

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

Artichokes do well in moderate cold which means that you can plant them earlier than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant artichokes in East Peoria 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 fully mature. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your artichokes indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on April 15 in East Peoria. You can expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for East Peoria is just an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in East Peoria you get a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your artichokes in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for East Peoria

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 East Peoria

You may be interested in your other planting guides for East Peoria.