One of the first steps you take when you are estimating your gardening schedule is find your 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 Rocky Mount you can determine 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 do well in moderate cold you can plant them a little bit earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant artichokes in Rocky Mount 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your artichokes may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your artichokes indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Rocky Mount the average date of last frost happens on March 15. You should expect an average low temperature of 10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Rocky Mount is just an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Rocky Mount you get a frost after March 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your artichokes if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Rocky Mount

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	10°F
Highest Expected Low	15°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 15°F.

Plants to Grow in Rocky Mount

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Rocky Mount.