One of the first steps you take when you are estimating 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.

One way of making a decision about when you can plant endive is to look at the USDA zone info for Marion.

Planting Calendar for Endive

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

Since endive do well in moderate cold you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant endive in Marion 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. If you wait any later than that and your endive may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your endive indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Marion the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -5°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Marion is not always accurate the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Marion last frost occurs after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your endive in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Marion

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-5°F
Highest Expected Low	0°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 0°F.

Plants to Grow in Marion

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