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

A way of making a decision about when it's a good idea to plant chicory is to examine the USDA zone info for Ottawa.

Planting Calendar for Chicory

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

Chicory tend to make it in mild cold which means that you can plant them just a bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant chicory in Ottawa 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 chicory and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your chicory may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your chicory indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for Ottawa is just an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Ottawa there is a last frost after April 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your chicory if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Ottawa

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 Ottawa

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