When to Plant Jerusalem artichokes in Columbia Falls, MT

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

A way of making a decision about when it's the best time to plant jerusalem artichokes is to use the USDA zone info for Columbia Falls.


Planting Calendar for Jerusalem artichokes

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

You can plant jerusalem artichokes a little bit earlier in the year because they are moderately cold tolerant.

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 Columbia Falls 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 really do well. Starting your jerusalem artichokes indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Columbia Falls the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -20°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Columbia Falls is not always accurate the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Columbia Falls you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to protect your jerusalem artichokes in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Columbia Falls

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5a.

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

Plants to Grow in Columbia Falls

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Columbia Falls.