The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

A common way of making a decision about when it's the best time to plant artichokes is to check out the USDA zone info for Alexandria.

Planting Calendar for Artichokes

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

Artichokes tend to make it in mild cold which tells us that you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant artichokes in Alexandria 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your artichokes may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your artichokes indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Alexandria. You can expect an average low temperature of -10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Alexandria is an average and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Alexandria you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to protect your artichokes in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Alexandria

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 Alexandria

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