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.

One way of making a decision about when to plant artichokes is to look at the USDA zone info for Rockford.

Planting Calendar for Artichokes

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

Since artichokes are moderately cold tolerant you can plant them just a bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant artichokes in Rockford 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. Starting your artichokes indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for Rockford is an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Rockford there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to protect your artichokes in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Rockford

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 Rockford

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