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When to Plant Jerusalem artichokes in Billings, MT

One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out 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.

The USDA zone info for Billings can be used to figure out when it's the best time to plant jerusalem artichokes.


Planting Calendar for Jerusalem artichokes

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

Since jerusalem artichokes are one of those plants that can tolerate a little bit of cold weather you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant jerusalem artichokes
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant jerusalem artichokes
Probably not a good time to plant jerusalem artichokes

The earliest that you can plant jerusalem artichokes in Billings is March. However, you really should wait until April 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 August. If you wait any later than that and your jerusalem artichokes may not have a chance to fully mature. 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

In Billings the average date of last frost happens on May 15. It might get as low as -25°F during the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Billings is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Billings last frost occurs after May 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your jerusalem artichokes if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Billings

Here is the info for USDA Zone 4b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)September 15
Lowest Expected Low-25°F
Highest Expected Low-20°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 -20°F.

Plants to Grow in Billings

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