One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

You can estimate when it's the best time to plant jerusalem artichokes in Hillsborough by checking out 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 can survive in moderate cold which means that you can plant them a little earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant jerusalem artichokes in Hillsborough 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. 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

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Hillsborough. It might get as low as 5°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Hillsborough is an average the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Hillsborough it frosts late in the year after April 15 be ready to protect your jerusalem artichokes in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Hillsborough

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	5°F
Highest Expected Low	10°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 10°F.

Plants to Grow in Hillsborough

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