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

By reviewing the USDA zone info for Norfolk it's a good idea to estimate when it's the best time to plant endive.

Planting Calendar for Endive

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

Since endive do well in moderate cold you can plant them just a bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant endive in Norfolk 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 endive and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your endive may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your endive indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Norfolk. You should expect an average low temperature of -20°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Norfolk is just an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Norfolk it frosts late in the year after April 15 be ready to cover your endive in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Norfolk

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 Norfolk

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