When to Plant Artichokes in Mendota, IL

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 can estimate when you can plant artichokes in Mendota by reviewing the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Artichokes

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

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

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

The earliest that you can plant artichokes in Mendota 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. Any later than that and your artichokes may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your artichokes indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on April 15 in Mendota. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Mendota is an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Mendota it frosts late in the year after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your artichokes in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Mendota

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 Mendota

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