One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Frederick you can figure out when it's a good idea to plant artichokes by checking out the USDA zone info.

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 a little earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant artichokes in Frederick 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. Any later than that and your artichokes may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your artichokes indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on April 15 in Frederick. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -5°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Frederick is just an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Frederick last frost occurs after April 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your artichokes in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Frederick

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 Frederick

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