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

The best time to plant chicory in New Orleans can be figured out by reviewing the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Chicory

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

Chicory do well in moderate cold which means that you can get them planted earlier than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant chicory in New Orleans is January. However, you really should wait until February if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant chicory and expect a good harvest is probably October. 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

In New Orleans the average date of last frost happens on February 15. You should expect an average low temperature of 25°F in the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for New Orleans is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in New Orleans it frosts late in the year after February 15 be ready to protect your chicory if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for New Orleans

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	25°F
Highest Expected Low	30°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 25°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 30°F.

Plants to Grow in New Orleans

You may be interested in your other planting guides for New Orleans.