One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

You will be able to estimate when it's the best time to plant artichokes by reviewing the USDA zone info for Rockaway.

Planting Calendar for Artichokes

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

Artichokes can survive in a little bit of cold which tells us that you can plant them just a bit earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant artichokes in Rockaway 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 grow to maturity. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your artichokes indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Rockaway. You can expect an average low temperature of -5°F in the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Rockaway is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Rockaway last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to protect your artichokes in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Rockaway

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-5°F
Highest Expected Low	0°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 0°F.

Plants to Grow in Rockaway

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