The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Rayne you can estimate when it's a good idea to plant chicory by using 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 ok in some cold which means that you can plant them a little bit earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant chicory in Rayne 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your chicory may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your chicory indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is February 15 in Rayne. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 20°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Rayne is just an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Rayne there is a last frost after February 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your chicory in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Rayne

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	20°F
Highest Expected Low	25°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 25°F.

Plants to Grow in Rayne

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