One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The first opportunity to plant jerusalem artichokes in Melrose can be figured out by reviewing the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Jerusalem artichokes

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

Jerusalem artichokes are moderately cold tolerant which means that you can get them planted earlier than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant jerusalem artichokes in Melrose 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 jerusalem artichokes and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your jerusalem artichokes may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your jerusalem 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 Melrose. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -5°F.

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Melrose and it changes from year to year. Half of the time in Melrose there is a last frost after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your jerusalem artichokes if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Melrose

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-5°F
Highest Expected Low	0°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -5°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 0°F.

Plants to Grow in Melrose

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