When to Plant Jerusalem artichokes in Mattoon, IL

Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Mattoon you can estimate when to plant jerusalem artichokes by reviewing the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Jerusalem artichokes

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

Jerusalem artichokes do ok in mild cold which means that you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

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

The earliest that you can plant jerusalem artichokes in Mattoon 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 jerusalem artichokes and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your jerusalem artichokes may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your jerusalem artichokes indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Mattoon. It might get as low as -10°F during the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Mattoon is just an average and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Mattoon there is a last frost after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your jerusalem artichokes if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Mattoon

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low-10°F
Highest Expected Low-5°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 -5°F.

Plants to Grow in Mattoon

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